logo
China remains tight-lipped on performance of its weapons in India-Pakistan conflict

China remains tight-lipped on performance of its weapons in India-Pakistan conflict

India Gazette3 days ago

Beijing [China], May 30 (ANI): A Chinese Defence Ministry spokesperson, Zhang Xiaogang, refused to provide any details on the effectiveness of Pakistan's weapons during the recent military confrontation with India, sidestepping direct answers and instead urging both sides to remain calm, Global Times reported.
This comes amid reports of India recovering an unexploded PL-15E missile, a Chinese-made beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile.
Speaking at a regular Thursday press briefing, spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang emphasised China's hope that both sides will remain calm and restrained to avoid further complicating the situation.
When asked for the ministry's comment on the performance of Chinese equipment in the recent India-Pakistan conflict, and on the remarks by Indian military officials that 'Pakistan received support from China's air defense and satellite systems, but the performance of these systems was below average,' Zhang said, 'We would like to stress that India and Pakistan are neighbors that cannot be moved. We hope both sides will remain calm and restrained to avoid further complicating the situation.'
He said that China is willing to continue playing a constructive role in maintaining regional peace and stability.
Notably, Pakistan and India announced on May 10 a cessation of hostilities. The announcement came following four days of Operation Sindoor, India's response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
Earlier, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said that the two countries agreed to observe a cessation of hostilities and end military actions on their borders and line of control, Xinhua said.
'It was agreed between them that both sides would stop all firing and military action on land, in the air and sea with effect from 5 pm local time on May 10. Instructions have been given on both sides to give effect to this understanding,' Misri said at a press briefing in New Delhi.
Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people and injured several others. The forces targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in over 100 deaths of terrorists affiliated with Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen. (ANI)

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

LeT, Jaish Tap Bangladesh Radical Networks, Use Campuses To Target Indian Students
LeT, Jaish Tap Bangladesh Radical Networks, Use Campuses To Target Indian Students

News18

time14 minutes ago

  • News18

LeT, Jaish Tap Bangladesh Radical Networks, Use Campuses To Target Indian Students

Last Updated: Top intelligence sources reveal Bangladesh-based groups are now providing legitimate access to LeT and Jaish in universities, where they target Indian students for radicalisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed have joined hands with radical groups in Bangladesh, opening a new front to radicalise Indian youth, CNN-News18 has learnt from top intelligence sources. A recent speech by Saifullah Kasuri, aka Khalid, in Kasur, Lahore, which has gone viral and is now circulating among radical groups, referenced Bengal and the division of the region on May 28. The speech is being actively used in radical circles to fuel propaganda. Bangladesh-based groups are now providing legitimate access to LeT and Jaish in universities, where they target Indian students for radicalisation. These India-based groups are also collaborating with Jamaat-e-Islami, creating a cross-border ideological network. LeT's exploitation of Bangladeshi universities is built on three key pillars: ideological alignment with local radicals, institutional decay, and cross-border impunity. Backed by ISI, LeT operates through multi-layered strategies combining ideological networks, institutional vulnerabilities, and cross-border operational logistics. LeT coordinates with Jamaat's student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir to infiltrate campuses. Shibir grants access to student networks, hostels, and Islamic study circles, which are then used for recruitment. Following the restoration of Jamaat-e-Islami's legitimacy post-2024, this access has become more streamlined. Groups such as Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami Bangladesh (HuJI-B) and Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), both linked to LeT, operate madrasas near universities. These madrasas indoctrinate students with Wahhabi-Salafi ideologies, framing education as jihad for Islamic revival. UK-based front organisations have also funded radical madrasas that later recruit university students. Shibir members invite Indian students into Islamic study circles, blending religious discussions with LeT propaganda videos. Events at the University of Dhaka have glorified Kashmir terrorists killed as martyrs. LeT's attack footage from India is shared through encrypted apps such as Telegram and Signal, with videos from incidents like the Pahalgam attacks being circulated to incite anti-India sentiments. Radical groups offer scholarships, flood relief, and financial aid to economically vulnerable Indian students. Following the 2024 floods, Jamaat distributed aid along with radical literature. Senior student 'mentors" isolate Indian youth, presenting radicalisation as identity preservation, while enforcing conservative dress codes such as beards and veils to build group loyalty. LeT is also using Bangladesh as a transit hub. Indian students radicalised in Dhaka or Chittagong are sent to LeT camps in Pakistan via Myanmar or Nepal, often under the guise of educational tours. They portray India as oppressing Muslims, leveraging events like the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and incidents of communal violence, such as the 2023 temple vandalism to validate jihadist narratives. The post-2024 interim government in Bangladesh lifted bans on Jamaat-e-Islami and allied groups, appointing radicals to key positions, including the Hizb-ut-Tahrir founder as Home Secretary. This has enabled LeT affiliates like Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) to operate openly on campuses. Government concessions to Hefazat-e-Islam, such as compulsory Islamic education, allow madrasas to teach jihadist ideologies unchallenged. Universities have also adopted gender-segregated curricula, normalising extremist norms. Bangladesh's lax NGO oversight, coupled with hundi remittances and money laundering—both significant contributors to its GDP—allow LeT to mask funding as charitable donations. LeT receives funds via NGOs from the Middle East, Gulf, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, under the pretext of reviving Islamic heritage and campus charities. Radicalised students returning to India are deployed as operatives. HuJI-B, JMB, and LeT proxies maintain around 40 sleeper cells in Assam and Nagaland, using Bangladesh-trained Indians to carry out attacks. LeT has also utilised Bangladeshi routes for India-bound operations. The 2025 Pahalgam attack involved a LeT operative who had met a Bangladeshi official prior to the operation. Anti-minority violence in Bangladesh — where nearly 2,200 Hindu-targeted incidents were reported in 2024 — spills over into India, intensifying Hindu-Muslim tensions and aiding in jihadist recruitment.

The view from India newsletter: How Ukraine hit airfields deep inside Russia
The view from India newsletter: How Ukraine hit airfields deep inside Russia

The Hindu

time15 minutes ago

  • The Hindu

The view from India newsletter: How Ukraine hit airfields deep inside Russia

Ukraine carried out its largest drone attack inside Russia on Sunday, targeting at least four military airports in four different regions (across four time zones) in the world's largest country. Unnamed officials of the Security Services of Ukraine (SBU), the country's spy agency, have claimed that the attacks 'destroyed' more than 40 Russian warplanes, including strategic bombers that can carry nuclear missiles, causing damages amounting to $7 billion. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed in a social media post the attack, which followed a Russian strike at a military training base in Ukraine, killing at least 12 soldiers, produced 'an absolutely brilliant result'. While the Ukrainian claims of destroying Russian strategic bombers are not independently confirmed, Russia's Ministry of Defence stated that five regions came under drone attacks and that several aircraft in two bases, one close to the border with Norway and the other in Siberia, caught fire. It said the fire was extinguished, other attacks were repelled and that there were no casualties. Russia also saw two bridges collapse in Kursk and Bryansk regions, both close to the Ukraine border, killing at least seven people and wounding 76 others. Russian officials say explosives were used to destroy the bridges. All this happened when Russian and Ukrainian officials were preparing to sit together for direct peace talks in Istanbul on Monday. It is not clear how Ukraine pulled off such an audacious drone attack thousands of kilometres away from the frontline. According to Ukrainian claims, the four regions that were attacked are: Ryazan, Ivanov, Murmansk and Irkutsk. The Olenya air base in Murmansk, close to the Norwegian border, is around 1,900 km from the frontline. Belaya airbase in the Siberian region of Irkutsk is 4,300 km away from Ukraine. Russian officials said Amur, close to the Chinese border, also came under attack, which was repelled. The attacks on these bases demonstrate Ukraine's growing capability to hit anywhere in Russia as well as its sprawling undercover operations in Russian soil. Per the Ukrainian version, the attack was in the plans for about one and a half years. SBU officials say Ukraine had secretly transported 'first person view' drones (FPVs transmit a live video feed from its front camera to a pilot's screen) into Russian territory on trucks. Drones were kept in wooden containers on trucks which were moved closer to the targets undetected. On Sunday, the wooden containers were opened remotely and the FPV drones, attached with explosives, were launched to the airfields. The Russian Defence Ministry has confirmed that the drones that hit Olenya and Belaya were launched 'from the immediate vicinity' of the airfields. Mr. Zelenskyy wrote in his social media post that 'our people involved in preparing the Operation were withdrawn from Russian territory in time'. Among the planes that were 'destroyed' are Russian Tu-95, Tu-22M3 and A-50 aircraft, according to the SBU. The Tu-95 bombers, which carry guided cruise missiles, can hit targets from thousands of kilometres afar (Tu-160 is Russia's most advanced strategic bomber). The A-50a are early warning jets that detect enemy aircraft and fire and feed intel on Russian fighter planes. 'Russian strategic bombers are all burning delightfully,' claimed Vasily Malyuk, the SBU chief, after the attack. According to The Economist, Russia's fleet of strategic bombers is relatively small — it operates less than 90 Tu-22s, Tu-95s and Tu-160s. If Ukraine's claims of destroying Russian bombers are true, it's a heavy blow to President Vladimir Putin and his forces. Even if Ukraine is exaggerating Russia's losses, the fact that it carried out such a massive attack deep inside Russian territory can be seen as a tactical gain, at a time when Moscow's forces have launched a new summer offensive and are making incremental territorial advances in the Sumy region. If Ukraine were planning such an elaborate attack for months, there would be questions on why the Russian intelligence failed to detect and deter them. Russia's military bloggers were quick to term June 1 a 'dark day' in the history of Russian aviation. Some others, especially the nationalist sections, called it 'Russia's Pearl Harbour' and demanded a similar response from the Kremlin to that of the U.S. during the Second World War. Mr. Putin, who has faced criticism at home from the nationalist sections for 'not doing enough' in the war, might come under greater pressure to retaliate heavily. The attack is also a heavy blow to U.S. President Donald Trump's public push to end the Ukraine war. When Russia carried out drone attacks in Ukraine late last month, Mr. Trump had said 'Putin had gone absolutely crazy' and that 'Putin is playing with fire'. Now, with the Ukrainian attack, the war has been pushed to a new level. And Mr. Trump's room for peace manoeuvre is shrinking fast. The Top Five 1. Israel is used to condemnation, international community must impose sanctions to end war' In this interview, Israeli author and columnist Gideon Levy tells Suhasini Haidar that India, with good relations with both sides, can influence outcome, warns IMEEC may be permanent casualty of war. 2. Will there be a lasting ceasefire in Gaza? | Explained What has the U.S. mediated through special envoy Steve Witkoff to ease the situation? What are the terms of the proposed ceasefire? Why did the last ceasefire fail? What happened after its collapse? What have international agencies warned regarding starvation in Gaza? writes Stanly Johny. 3. Alan Garber | The man who stood up to Trump The Harvard president, who pushed back against the Trump administration's meddling with the university's affairs, is trying to do a delicate balancing act — shielding the institution from political assault while undertaking reforms that may ensure its survival, writes Aaratrika Bhaumik. 4. Foreign students face uncertainty as Trump steps up attack on universities In April, the federal government froze more than $2 billion in grants and contracts with Harvard, citing non-compliance with requests to modify hiring and admissions policies, dismantle diversity-equity-inclusion programmes, and conduct ideological vetting of international students, writes Anisha Dutta. 5. Pakistan's India war Pakistan, dominated by a military mindset, is contriving to find ways and means of undermining India's progress, writes M.K. Narayanan.

Air India CEO Campbell Wilson says Pakistan airspace ban adding to flying costs
Air India CEO Campbell Wilson says Pakistan airspace ban adding to flying costs

Mint

time21 minutes ago

  • Mint

Air India CEO Campbell Wilson says Pakistan airspace ban adding to flying costs

The continuing ban for Indian airlines in using Pakistani airspace is adding flying hours for non-stop flights and will weigh down Air India Ltd.'s path to profitability, its top executive said in an interview. 'The impact is significant but we have been able to sustain non-stop operations' to most destinations in North America and Europe, Air India Chief Executive Officer Campbell Wilson said in a Bloomberg TV interview Monday. 'It'll certainly hit our bottomline.' The airspace curbs have increased flying time for west-bound flights from India by an hour or so, according to Wilson, who declined to give details on the discussions the Tata Group-owned carrier was having with stakeholders on this front. The armed conflict between India and Pakistan that erupted May 7 was the worst between the nuclear-armed neighbors in decades, with both sides trading drone and missile strikes besides artillery and small arms fire along their shared border. It was triggered by a gruesome attack on civilians in Indian-controlled Kashmir on April 22. While a ceasefire was announced on May 10, Pakistan has extended the airspace ban for Indian airlines until June 24. Geopolitical strife has been complicating flying routes and business models for airlines globally in the past few years as they skirt conflict zones. Tariffs are also now a closely watched development for the sector. 'We want certainty. Uncertainty is difficult when you are making investment decisions,' Wilson said, adding that this was a common theme at the ongoing aviation industry event in New Delhi. So far, Air India sees no impact of tariffs on travel flows for its geography and markets. The recent showdown between the US President Donald Trump and Harvard University has added another layer of complication for international fliers especially those looking to study in American institutions. Pointing to anecdotal stories, Wilson said that there seems to be some shift in the large student population from India that usually vies to be on US campuses. 'You hear people thinking of alternatives,' he said. 'Obviously, it's a relatively new development, so people are still digesting it but it does seem that people are more willing to look at alternative locations than perhaps they were before.' Wilson, who steered the massive merger of Tata-owned carriers Air India and Vistara last year, declined to comment on media stories on the airline's discussions with plane makers to buy more narrowbody jets. Air India, the unprofitable carrier which the Tata conglomerate acquired from the Indian government in 2021, will start receiving new planes it had ordered toward the end of this year, according to Wilson. The deliveries are 'later than we hoped, slower than we hoped,' he said. 'It is constraining our ambitions a little bit in the short term but the long term opportunity for this market is massive, so we are very, very confident.' More stories like this are available on Disclaimer: This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store