Pakistan Targets India at UN: Deputy PM Ishaq Dar Raises Kashmir, Indus Waters Treaty, Terrorism
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First Post
15 minutes ago
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Pakistan says trade deal with US will be finalised in 'few days' but Washington gives no timeline
While Dar asserted that a trade deal between the two countries would take 'just a few days', Rubio did not mention a timeline. The US State Department and Pakistan's foreign ministry said the two stressed in their discussion the importance of expanding trade and ties in critical minerals and mining read more Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has said that the country is 'very close' to securing a trade deal with the US, although the US has made no such announcement. Dar's comment came after he held a bilateral meeting with US State Secretary Marco Rubio on Friday. 'I think we are very close to finalising a deal with US. Our teams have been here in Washington, discussing, having virtual meetings and a committee has been tasked by the prime minister to fine-tune now,' the foreign minister said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD While Dar asserted that a trade deal between the two countries would take 'just a few days', Rubio did not mention a timeline. The US State Department and Pakistan's foreign ministry, in separate statements after Rubio's meeting with Dar, said the two stressed in their discussion the importance of expanding trade and ties in critical minerals and mining. A post by Rubio on X after the meeting and the State Department's statement mentioned no timeline for finalising a trade deal. Met with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister @MIshaqDar50 today to discuss expanding bilateral trade and enhancing collaboration in the critical minerals sector. I also thanked him for Pakistan's partnership in countering terrorism and preserving regional… — Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) July 25, 2025 Meanwhile, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs has said that India and the US are finalising the 'first tranche of a mutually beneficial, multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA).' Replying to a question posed by the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, MEA said that trade teams from both the nations are currently engaged in negotiations on the BTA and discussions are 'aimed at adopting an integrated approach to further strengthen and deepen bilateral trade relations, including through enhanced mutual market access, reduction of tariff and non-tariff barriers, and closer integration of supply chains.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD US President Donald Trump, similarly, said earlier this month that his administration is 'very close' to finalising a trade deal with India. 'We're very close to a deal with India where they open it [the market] up.'
Hindustan Times
35 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Thailand-Cambodia clashes enter day 3, over 30 Dead, thousands displaced
Thailand and Cambodia clashed for a third day on Saturday, as the death toll from their bloodiest fighting in years rose to 33 and Phnom Penh called for an "immediate ceasefire". Thai residents evacuate from their homes following clashes between Thai and Cambodian soldiers in Sisaket province of Thailand.(AP) A long-running border dispute erupted into intense conflict involving jets, artillery, tanks and ground troops on Thursday, prompting the UN Security Council to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis Friday. Cambodia's defence ministry said 13 people were now confirmed killed in the fighting, including eight civilians and five soldiers, with 71 people wounded. In Thailand, the army said five soldiers were killed on Friday, taking the toll there to 20 -- 14 civilians and six military. The death toll across the two countries is now higher than the 28 killed in the last major round of fighting between 2008 and 2011. Both sides reported a clash around 5:00 am (2200 Friday GMT), with Cambodia accusing Thai forces of firing "five heavy artillery shells" into locations in Pursat province, which borders Thailand's Trat province. The fighting has forced more than 138,000 people to be evacuated from Thailand's border regions, with more than 35,000 driven from their homes in Cambodia. After the closed meeting of the Security Council in New York, Cambodia's UN ambassador Chhea Keo said his country wanted a ceasefire. "Cambodia asked for an immediate ceasefire -- unconditionally -- and we also call for the peaceful solution of the dispute," he told reporters. - Border row - Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura said Friday, before the UN meeting was held, that Bangkok was open to talks, possibly aided by Malaysia. "We are ready, if Cambodia would like to settle this matter via diplomatic channels, bilaterally, or even through Malaysia, we are ready to do that. But so far we have not had any response," Nikorndej told AFP. Malaysia currently holds the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations regional bloc, of which Thailand and Cambodia are both members. Acting Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai has warned that if the situation escalates, "it could develop into war." Both sides blamed each other for firing first, while Thailand accused Cambodia of targeting civilian infrastructure, including a hospital hit by shells and a petrol station hit by at least one rocket. Cambodia has accused Thai forces of using cluster munitions. At the UN, Cambodia's envoy questioned Thailand's assertion that his country, which is smaller and less militarily developed than its neighbour, had initiated the conflict. "(The Security Council) called for both parties to show maximum restraint and resort to a diplomatic solution. That is what we are calling for as well," said Chhea Keo. The fighting marks a dramatic escalation in a long-running dispute between the neighbours -- both popular destinations for millions of foreign tourists -- over their shared 800-kilometre (500-mile) border. Dozens of kilometres in several areas are contested, and fighting broke out between 2008 and 2011, leaving at least 28 people dead and tens of thousands displaced. A UN court ruling in 2013 settled the matter for over a decade, but the current crisis erupted in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a new clash.
Hindustan Times
35 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
What UN meet amid grave tragedy in Gaza aims to achieve, and what it might
The ongoing mass starvation of Gazans amid Israeli military action may finally prove to be enough for the global community at the level of the United Nations to push again for a two-state solution. Palestinians at a tent camp next to buildings destroyed in Israeli military operations in Gaza City, July 25.(AP) Israel and its biggest backer, the US, are expected to be absent at the July 28-30 UN conference in New York, where France plans to recognise Palestinian statehood as over 100 countries attend. Talks for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, however, have hit a wall after the US and Israel withdrew their negotiators. They have alleged that Hamas has set unreasonable conditions. In that light, the UN conference, co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France, is a response to the crisis. Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa and several dozen ministers from around the world are expected to attend, AFP reported. Israel clearing Gaza Israeli bulldozers have, nonetheless, been clearing the rubble of thousands of destroyed buildings in Gaza — homes, hospitals, schools, offices — as the ideas of Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump, of developing a 'waterfront property' and a 'resort-like city', take shape. Trump has grown more blunt in his calls for Israel to 'finish the job'. Also read | Palestinians stare at 'die hungry or leave territory' as Gaza starvation peaks After more than 21 months of the latest war in Gaza, which began as retaliation to an attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas, Israel is speaking of shifting all of Gaza's population into a 'humanitarian city'. Some analysts see that as a potential concentration camp. Israel's settlements continue to expand in the West Bank, the other major Palestinian territory, too. Its officials have stated designs to annex more of the occupied territory. A Palestinian state, thus, looks geographically impossible. Also read | Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will take 'full control' of Gaza But French President Emmanuel Macron's announcement, that his country will formally recognise the State of Palestine in September, "will breathe new life into [the UN] conference that seemed destined to irrelevance," Richard Gowan, an analyst at the International Crisis Group, told news agency AFP. "Macron's announcement changes the game. Other participants will be scrabbling to decide if they should also declare an intent to recognise Palestine," he felt. According to an AFP database, at least 142 of the 193 UN member states — already including France — now recognise the Palestinian state proclaimed by the Palestinian leadership in exile in 1988. In 1947, a resolution of the UN General Assembly decided on the partition of Palestine, then under a British mandate, into two independent states — one Jewish and the other Arab. But subsequent wars and annexations have meant Israel now controls almost all of the territory. 'No alternative': Back to a two-state solution After the latest war having reportedly claimed over 50,000 lives, and protests over the West's military support to Israel growing, a two-state solution is 'more threatened than it has ever been', said a French diplomatic source to AFP. "But it's even more necessary than before, because we see very clearly that there is no alternative," the source added. The three-day New York meeting is hoping to facilitate conditions for even wider recognition of a Palestinian state. Plus, it has three other focuses: reform of the Palestinian Authority, disarmament of Hamas and its exclusion from Palestinian public life, and normalization of relations with Israel by Arab states that have not yet done so. The UK, however, has said it would not recognise a Palestinian state unilaterally and would wait for 'a wider plan'. Germany has no such plans either. 'Very fierce criticism of Israel' is expected, though, at the meet, said analyst Gowan. The conference "offers a unique opportunity to transform international law and the international consensus into an achievable plan and to demonstrate resolve to end the occupation and conflict once and for all, for the benefit of all peoples," said the Palestinian ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour, calling for "courage" from participants. Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, has dismissed the plan, 'This conference […] doesn't first urgently address the issue of condemning Hamas and returning all of the remaining hostages.' (With AFP inputs)
