Indian | Pakistan

• US president criticises India for doing business with Russia, describing both economies as ‘dead’ • Medvedev brushes aside Trump’s attack NEW DELHI: By declaring the Indian economy as dead in the water on Thursday, President Donald Trump has put Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party in a bind. Until recently, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party was canvassing support for the US president’s election. Its supporters were holding special prayers and muttering mystical chants for Trump’s victory. There was at least one temple created where a sculptured image of Trump was worshipped. But Trump has ignored the lavish praise and called out India’s energy imports from Russia and its tariff regime as non-negotiable. The Indian government said it was trying to figure out a response by consulting all the “stakeholders”, a euphemism for angry businesses whose hopes were riding on Mr Modi’s daring ability to play both sides of the street. That appears to have hit a dead-end. Encouraging words have come from former Ru...

Indian state refiners have stopped buying Russian oil in the past week as discounts narrowed this month and United States President Donald Trump warned countries not to purchase oil from Moscow, industry sources said. India, the world’s third-largest oil importer, is the biggest buyer of seaborne Russian crude, a vital revenue earner for Russia as it wages war in Ukraine for a fourth year. The country’s state refiners — Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL), Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) and Mangalore Refinery Petrochemical Ltd (MRPL) — have not sought Russian crude in the past week or so, four sources familiar with the refiners’ purchase plans told Reuters. IOC, BPCL, HPCL, MRPL and the federal oil ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. The four refiners regularly buy Russian oil on a delivered basis and have turned to spot markets for replacement supply — mostly Middle Eastern grades such as Abu Dhabi’s Murban crude and West African oil, sources said. Private ...

The Pakistani veterans team advanced into the World Championship of Legends (WCL) final on Wednesday after Indian players forfeited the semi-final scheduled for Thursday. The WCL is an international cricket league where retired, non-contracted international players return to competitive T20 cricket, according to the league’s website. The tournament commenced on July 18 and is being held in Birmingham, England. Earlier in the month, a group match between the two teams was also cancelled after Indian players, including Shikhar Dhawan, refused to play against Pakistan. In a statement posted on X today, WCL organisers announced: “Taking all factors into consideration, the match between the India Champions and the Pakistan Champions has been called off. As a result, Pakistan Champions will advance to the final.” The WCL said it respected the India Champions’ decision to withdraw from the semi-finals and “we equally respect the Pakistan Champions’ readiness to compete”. The league organisers added they believed in ...

The Foreign Office (FO) on Wednesday assailed and rejected the Indian parliament’s debate on “Operation Sindoor”, claiming that the remarks made in the Lok Sabha “distort facts, justify aggression, and glorify conflict for domestic consumption”. The two countries entered a brief but intense military escalation after India, without evidence, blamed Pakistan for the April 22 Pahalgam attack. On May 6–7, New Delhi launched air strikes that killed civilians, followed by a week-long missile exchange. A US-brokered ceasefire ended the war. During Tuesday’s debate, Indian Home Minister Amit Shah claimed that security forces killed three “Pakistanis” involved in the Pahalgam attack in Operation Mahadev, Reuters reported. “I want to tell … the entire nation that these were the three terrorists who killed our citizens … and now all three have been killed,” Shah told parliament during the discussion. In a statement issued today on the Indian parliament debate, FO spokesperson Ambassador Shafqat Ali Khan said: “Pakistan ...

Indian opposition parties on Tuesday assailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for failures in the Pakistan-India four-day conflict earlier this year. As New Delhi launched deadly air strikes on Pakistan in early May over allegations about the Pahalgam attack, which Islamabad denied, PAF downed six Indian jets in its response. After tit-for-tat strikes on each other’s airbases, it took American intervention on May 10 for both sides to finally reach a ceasefire. Speaking in the monsoon session of the Indian lower house of parliament, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi said Modi’s government “lacked the political will to fight Pakistan and, because of that, asked the armed forces to attack with their hands tied behind their backs,” according to NDTV. “If Modi ji has even 50 per cent of the courage that Indira Gandhi had, then clearly say in parliament — Donald Trump is lying,” Gandhi, who is a member of the opposition Congress party, said. He added that the Indian prime minister should state that neither did Tru...

A cricket match between Indian and Pakistani veteran players — part of the World Championship of Legends (WCL) — was called off after Indian players, including Shikhar Dhawan, refused to play against Pakistan, citing recent “geopolitical tensions” between the two nations, according to a statement issued by WCL on Sunday. The WCL is an international cricket league where retired, non-contracted international players return to competitive T20 cricket, according to the league’s website. The tournament commenced on July 18 and is being held in Birmingham, England. In a statement posted on X, WCL organisers announced that, “We have decided to call off the India vs Pakistan match,” saying that the match between the two countries was planned in light of recent positive development between India and Pakistan, indicating improved bilateral sporting ties. The statement cited a recent volleyball match between the rival nations and speculations around Pakistan’s hockey team touring India later this year. On Friday, Pakist...

The Pakistan Airports Authority has extended its airspace ban on Indian aircraft for another month, now effective until August 23, 2025.

RAWALPINDI: The Pakistan Airports Auth­ority (PAA) has extended the closure of its airspace to Indian-registered aircraft, according to a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) issued on Friday. Pakistani airspace has remained closed to Indian aircraft since April 24 in a tit-for-tat move after India in a controversial move unilaterally suspended the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT). The ban will now remain in place until 4:59am on Aug 24, according to the authority. The NOTAM issued by the PAA reads: “Pakistan airspace not available for Indian-registered aircraft and aircraft operated, owned, or leased by Indian airlines/operators, including military flights.” Published in Dawn, July 19th, 2025

ISLAMABAD:  The Pakistan Airports Authority has issued a recent notice to Airmen (NOTAM), prolonging the Pakistan airspace ban on Indian aircraft for one more month, which will now be effective until August 23, 2025, ARY News reported. This will be the fourth continuous extension since the first suspension on April 23, after the escalated tensions […]

A group of right-wingers in India forcibly closed an outlet of the fast food chain KFC to close, demanding a ban on the sale of non-vegetarian food during the Hindu month of Sawan, according to reports by Indian media outlets on Friday. Sawan, also known as Shravana, is considered a holy month in the Hindu calendar where many observe fasts and refrain from consuming meat, alcohol and even onions and garlic, according to Indian daily The Hindu. The Hindu reported that a group of demonstrators stormed the outlet in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh and confronted the staff, demanding that the restaurant’s operations be stopped. “Visuals of the incident circulated widely on social media showed members of the outfit carrying saffron flags and chanting slogans such as ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Har Har Mahadev’, while forcibly pulling down the shutter of the KFC outlet,” the newspaper added. According to The Times of India, Pinky Chaudhary, the chief of the group, said, “Our message is clear: we are asking that all non-vegetarian...

India’s opposition parties have called for the governor of occupied Kashmir to resign with an apology to the people of the territory after he admitted to a “security failure” in the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 people. On April 22, 26 tourists were killed at a hill station in India-occupied Kashmir’s (IoK) Pahalgam. India has blamed Pakistan for the horrific attack, an accusation the latter denies. Islamabad has called for an international independent probe into the massacre. In an interview with the Times of India on Monday, IoK Lieutenant Governor and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Manoj Sinha said, “I take full responsibility for the incident, which was undoubtedly a security failure.” In response to the admission, numerous Indian politicians slammed him for negligence and for his delay in taking accountability and called for his resignation. The Indian National Congress |(INC) suggested that Sinha intended to shield “unspecified officials” in the union government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, The ...

Islamabad - Pakistan smashed Indian false narrative at 32nd ASEAN Regional Forum Meeting in Kuala Lumpur and told the influential regional forum that India’s covert footprint was not confined to Pakistan.

Police in Japan’s Shiga prefecture have arrested an Indian man for allegedly raping a teenage girl last month, local news outlet Kyoto Shimbun reported. Shiga’s Otsu police arrested the man, identified as a 24-year-old temporary worker, on Thursday on suspicion of assaulting and raping a teenage high school girl. The man allegedly assaulted the “girl living in the prefecture, including by choking her, and then having sexual intercourse with her at a hotel in Otsu city”. The incident took place in the early hours of June 21, according to the report, which was also carried by Tokyo Reporter. It quoted the Otsu police as saying that the suspect and the girl did not know each other. The man had gone with her to the front of a hotel under the pretence of asking for directions, then forced her into a room, the police said. The suspect denied the charges and was quoted as saying, “I did not force her.” In May, Japanese police said they arrested a former taxi driver on suspicion of drugging and raping a female passen...

A British F-35B fighter jet stranded at an Indian airport for nearly a month, sparking memes and cartoons on social media, is expected to fly back home as early as next week, The Associated Press reported on Thursday, quoting Indian officials. The Royal Navy aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport on June 14 in the state capital and has been grounded ever since, despite efforts to repair it. The Indian Air Force said last month it would help in the repair and return of the jet, which made an emergency landing when it was flying over the Arabian Sea off Kerala’s coast. A British High Commission spokesperson had told Reuters the United Kingdom had accepted an offer to move the aircraft to the maintenance, repair and overhaul facility at the airport. AP reported today that officials said engineers hoped to repair the plane in the next few days before it could fly back to the UK “sometime next week”. The British High Commission confirmed to the outlet that a Br...

In an exclusive interview with Indian journalist Karan Thapar, PPP Chairman and former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Wednesday said the Indian public was “lied to” by New Delhi about Pakistan’s alleged involvement in the Pahalgam attack in occupied Kashmir. The statement comes amid tensions between the two nuclear-armed countries in the wake of their recent military confrontation, sparked by New Delhi’s baseless allegations against Islamabad over the Pahalgam attack. In an interview with The Wire’s Thapar, the PPP chief said that had Pakistan been involved in the attack, evidence would have surfaced and the perpetrators identified. This is the first interview given by a Pakistani representative to Indian media since the military escalation. “As far as the Pahalgam terrorist attack is concerned, Pakistan has been willing to be part of an impartial international investigation; your government refused that,” Bilawal said. Notably, Bilawal led a delegation to present Pakistan’s case across the globe ...

A panel of Indian lawmakers will review safety in the country’s civil aviation sector and has invited several industry and government officials to answer questions on July 9, with topics set to include Air India’s recent plane crash. The upper house of India’s parliament has asked airport operators, air traffic controllers and airlines including Air India and IndiGo INGL.NS to take part in a comprehensive review of passenger safety, according to a memo drafted for the meeting and seen by Reuters. The gathering comes after the June 12 Air India disaster that killed 260 people, including 241 on board, when a Boeing BA.N 787-8 jet crashed within a minute of take-off from India’s Ahmedabad. Investigators are still probing what caused the world’s worst aviation accident in a decade. Though the memo did not mention the crash, R K Chaudhary, a lawmaker on the panel, told Reuters that it planned to discuss the matter internally and during the meeting. “If we will not raise questions on it, they (airlines) will not be...

An Indian defence attache has claimed that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) shot down six Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter aircraft “only because of the constraint given by the political leadership to not attack the military establishment or their air defences”, Indian news outlet The Wire reported on Sunday. Earlier this month, the PAF confirmed that six IAF jets were shot down late on the night of May 7, after India launched missiles at six Pakistani sites, including in Sialkot and Bahawalpur, as well as Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Three of the downed fighters were French-made Dassault Rafales. This military confrontation took place after New Delhi, without evidence, blamed Islamabad for backing terrorists who killed 26 tourists in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam in April — an allegation that Islamabad denied. According to The Wire, India’s defence attache to Indonesia, Indian Navy Captain Shiv Kumar, while speaking at a seminar in Indonesia last month, acknowledged that the PAF downed the Indian fighters. During his pre...

KARACHI: India’s attempt to disrupt Pakistan’s external trade by banning ships carrying Pakistani goods from anchoring at its ports has failed to yield the desired impact, according to shipping industry representatives. On May 2, India imposed a ban on ships carrying goods originating from or destined for Pakistan, barring them from entering Indian ports or transiting through Indian territory. The move followed military aggression under ‘Operation Sindoor’ launched on May 7, which ended within four days due to Pakistan’s forceful retaliation. While India initially sought to hurt Pakistan’s trade flows, the outcome fell short of expectations. Shipping companies reportedly adapted by separating cargo bound for and from Pakistan, thereby avoiding dependence on Indian ports. Importers, however, said the Indian ban has resulted in longer shipping times and higher freight charges. “Mother vessels are not coming to Pakistan due to this Indian action, which delays our imports by 30 to 50 days,” said Javed Bilwani, Pr...

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir on Saturday stated that Pakistan proved itself as a “net region stabiliser” after having repelled Indian military aggression twice and demonstrating its commitment to regional security. The remarks followed recent tensions between India and Pakistan over New Delhi’s allegations against Islamabad, without evidence, about a deadly attack in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam. Pakistan had strongly denied the allegations and called for a neutral probe. As the situation turned into a military confrontation between the nuclear powers, it took American intervention for both sides to agree to a ceasefire. Speaking at the Pakistan Naval Academy in Karachi, COAS Munir said that Pakistan will protect its sovereignty and national interests decisively and without hesitation, state media PTV reported. The report quoted the army chief as saying, “In recent years, India has twice undertaken acts of unprovoked aggression against Pakistan, which were met with our resolute response....

The Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) on Monday announced that the airspace ban on Indian airlines was extended until July 23. New Delhi had accused Islamabad, without evidence, of orchestrating last month’s deadly attack in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam. Pakistan had strongly denied the allegations and called for a neutral probe. As the situation turned into a military confrontation between the nuclear powers, it took American intervention for both sides to agree to a ceasefire. On April 24, Pakistan’s top brass had announced a series of measures, including the closure of its airspace to all India-owned or Indian-operated airlines with immediate effect, as it retaliated against New Delhi’s slew of aggressive measures against the country. A revised notice to airmen (NOTAM) issued by the PAA today said, “[The] airspace closure for India has been extended for one month.” The statement said that the airspace will remain closed until July 23. “PAA maintains [the] ban on Indian airlines’ passenger and military aircr...