Latest news with #AribaShahid
Zawya
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Zawya
Pakistan extends airspace ban for Indian airlines until June 24
Pakistan extended its airspace closure for all Indian-owned or Indian-operated airlines until 4:59 a.m. local time on June 24, the Pakistan Airports Authority said in a statement on Friday. The restriction applies to "all aircraft registered, operated, owned, or leased by India" and includes Indian military aircraft, the authority said in a statement. The move extends restrictions first imposed last month amid continuing tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. (Reporting by Ariba Shahid in Karachi; Writing by Surbhi Misra; Editing by Toby Chopra in New Delhi)
RNZ News
16-05-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
What is the Indus Waters Treaty between India and Pakistan?
By Sarita Chaganti Singh and Ariba Shahid A view of a dry path of Indus River in Jamshoro and Kotri district in Hyderabad, Pakistan, on 6 May, 2025. Photo: AFP India suspended its participation in the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan last month after the killing of 26 civilians in Kashmir, which New Delhi blames on Islamabad. Pakistan denies the charges, which led to the worst fighting between the countries in decades before a ceasefire was agreed last week. The treaty had survived three wars and other conflicts between the bitter rivals, while withstanding many twists and turns in diplomatic ties. Reuters reported on 16 May that Delhi is considering projects that would likely reduce the flow of water into Pakistan from rivers allocated to that country. India says it will "keep the treaty in abeyance until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism," while Islamabad says "any attempt to stop or divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan" will be an "act of war." The nuclear-armed neighbours disagree over use of the water from rivers that flow downstream from India into the Indus river basin in Pakistan. The use of the water is governed by the Indus Waters Treaty, which was mediated by the World Bank and signed by the neighbours in September 1960. The agreement split the Indus and its tributaries between the two countries and regulated water sharing. India was granted the use of water from three eastern rivers - Sutlej, Beas and Ravi - while Pakistan was granted most of the three western rivers - Indus, Jhelum and Chenab. There is no provision in the treaty for either country to unilaterally suspend or terminate the pact, which has clear dispute resolution systems. The countries have argued over and disputed several projects on the Indus and its tributaries for years. Pakistan is heavily dependent on water from this river system for its hydropower and irrigation needs. Pakistan says India unfairly diverts water with the upstream construction of barrages and dams, a charge India denies. Pakistan is concerned that India's dams will cut flows on the river, which feeds 80 percent of its irrigated agriculture. It has asked for a neutral expert and then an arbitration court to intervene in two recent hydropower projects. India has accused Pakistan of dragging out the complaints process, and says the construction of its Kishanganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects is allowed under the treaty. It has also sought modification of the pact to get around such delays. The suspension of the accord is not expected to have an immediate impact on the flow of water to Pakistan as India does not have enough storage capacity. However, water at a key receiving point in Pakistan briefly fell by as much as 90 percent in early May after India started maintenance work on some Indus projects. India's move could also bring uncertainty to Pakistan's agricultural system. The suspension means India can stop sharing crucial information and data on release of water from barrages/dams or on flooding, Indian officials said, adding that New Delhi will also not be obliged to release minimum amounts of water during the lean season. Pakistan says the treaty is a binding international agreement brokered by the World Bank and contains no provision for unilateral suspension. Ghasharib Shaokat, the head of product at Pakistan Agriculture Research, called the treaty the backbone of the country's agriculture sector. "It puts our agricultural future on shaky ground. If water flows become erratic, the entire system takes a hit - especially irrigation-dependent crops such as wheat, rice, and sugarcane," Shaokat said. "Yields could drop. Costs could rise. Food prices would likely spike. And small-scale farmers, who already operate on thin margins, would bear the brunt of it." Khalid Hussain Baath, chairman of a national farmers' union in Pakistan, painted the move as an act of belligerence. "This is a true war," Baath said from Lahore. "We already have a water shortage because of climate change. Low rainfall this year, and limited snow means that the water level is already 20-25 percent lower than last year." - Reuters
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pakistan finance minister: conflict with India won't have large fiscal impact
By Ariba Shahid and Charlotte Greenfield KARACHI/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -The recent military escalation with arch-rival India won't have a large fiscal impact on Pakistan and can be managed within the current fiscal space, with no need for a new economic assessment, Pakistan's Finance Minister said in an interview with Reuters on Monday. Trade talks with the United States – which had played a key role mediating a ceasefire between the two countries – would likely have progress in 'short order' and that Pakistan could import more high-quality cotton, more soy beans and was also exploring other asset classes, including hydrocarbons, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said in the online interview. On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. is ready to help India and Pakistan after a ceasefire agreement, claiming trade was a big reason they "stopped fighting". Pakistan faces a 29% tariff on exports to the US due to an approximate $3 billion trade surplus, but this is currently under a 90-day pause announced in April. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday approved a $1 billion loan disbursement to Pakistan as part of a larger $7 billion bailout agreement. Aurangzeb said Islamabad would receive the tranche disbursement on Tuesday. The IMF executive board also approved a fresh $1.4 billion loan to Pakistan under its climate resilience facility. The federal budget for the next fiscal year, starting July, will be finalised within the next three to four weeks, with scheduled budget talks with the IMF to take place from May 14-23, he said. Regarding the India-Pakistan conflict, Aurangzeb described it as a "short duration escalation" with minimal fiscal impact, stating it can be "accommodated within the fiscal space which is available to the government of Pakistan". When questioned about potential increased military spending in the upcoming budget, Aurangzeb deferred comment, saying it was premature to discuss specific plans. However, he said: "Whatever we need to do in terms of ensuring that our defence requirements are met will be met." Aurangzeb said he expects the Indus Water Treaty, which India unilaterally suspended, to be reinstated and rolled back to where it was. He said there is not going to be any immediate impact from India's suspension and Pakistan does not "even want to consider any scenario which does not take into account the reinstatement of this treaty." Tensions between India and Pakistan began mounting after the April 22 attack in Indian Kashmir on Hindu tourists that killed 26 people, sparking the worst clashes between the nuclear-armed neighbours in more than two decades. On Saturday a ceasefire in the Himalayan region was announced by Trump, following four days of fighting and diplomacy and pressure from Washington.
Japan Today
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Japan Today
Pakistan summons its top nuclear group after launching offensive on India
Damaged vehicles are seen in the neighbourhood, following Pakistan's military operation against India, in Rehari, Jammu, May 10, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer By Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam and Ariba Shahid Pakistan said it called a meeting on Saturday of the top body that oversees its nuclear arsenal after it launched a military operation against India early in the morning, targeting multiple bases including a missile storage site in northern India. The Indian army said after the attacks that Pakistan was continuing its "blatant escalation" with drone strikes and using other munitions along India's western border, and that its "enemy designs" would be thwarted. Five civilians were killed in the attacks in the Jammu region of Indian Kashmir, regional police said. Diplomatic calls for de-escalation, including by the United States, intensified as the nuclear-armed neighbors ramped up their worst fighting in three decades. Pakistan said that, before its offensive, India had fired missiles at three air bases, including one close to the capital, Islamabad, but Pakistani air defenses intercepted most of them. Pakistan's military also said the prime minister had called a meeting of the National Command Authority, a top body of civilian and military officials that oversees decisions on its nuclear arsenal. Analysts and diplomats have long feared that conflict between the arch-rivals could escalate into the use of nuclear weapons, in one of the world's most dangerous and most populated nuclear flashpoint regions. Pakistan's planning minister Ahsan Iqbal said the escalation was a test for the international community. "We would hate to see that (nuclear) threshold being breached," he said. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Pakistan's Army Chief Asim Munir on Friday morning, according to the U.S. State Department. "He continued to urge both parties to find ways to de-escalate and offered U.S. assistance in starting constructive talks in order to avoid future conflicts," said State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce. Locked in a longstanding dispute over Kashmir, the two countries have engaged in daily clashes since Wednesday when India launched strikes inside Pakistan on what it called "terrorist infrastructure". Pakistan vowed to retaliate. The meeting of the National Command Authority signaled an alarming escalation, analysts said. "It is a soft nuclear signal but also well in line with Pakistan's nuclear doctrine of first use and realistically reflective of where we are on the escalation ladder - which is pretty high up, after multiple duels between both sides, and also lacking in precedent," said Asfandyar Mir, Senior Fellow for South Asia at the Stimson Center. An Indian army statement on X said multiple armed drones were spotted flying over the holy city of Amritsar in India's Punjab state and were destroyed by its defense units. Pakistan's planning minister said in a broadcast interview that it was not targeting civilians and would only target locations that had been used for action against Pakistan. The Indian defense and foreign ministries would jointly brief the media at 10:30 a.m., the foreign ministry said in an advisory to the media. Pakistan's information minister said in a post on social media site X that the military operation was named "Operation Bunyanun Marsoos". The term is taken from the Koran and means a firm, united structure. "BrahMos storage site has been taken out in general area Beas," Pakistan's military said in a message to journalists, adding that the Pathankot airfield in India's western Punjab state and Udhampur Air Force Station in Indian Kashmir were also hit. Sounds of explosions were reported in India's Srinagar and Jammu, where sirens sounded, a Reuters witness said. "India through its planes launched air-to-surface missiles ... Nur Khan base, Mureed base and Shorkot base were made targets," Pakistan military spokesman Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said in a late-night televised statement. The chief minister of Indian Kashmir Omar Abdullah said in a statement a local administration official had been killed by shelling in Rajouri, near the line of control that divides the contested region. One of the three air bases that Pakistan said were targeted by India is in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, just outside the capital Islamabad. The other two are in Pakistan's eastern province of Punjab, which borders India. The Pakistani military spokesman said only a few missiles made it past air defenses, and those did not hit any "air assets", according to initial damage assessments. India has said its strikes on Wednesday, which started the latest clashes between the countries, were in retaliation for a deadly attack on Hindu tourists in Indian Kashmir last month. Pakistan denied India's accusations that it was involved in the tourist attack. Since Wednesday, the two countries have exchanged cross-border fire and shelling, and sent drones and missiles into each other's airspace. Much of the fighting on Friday was in Indian Kashmir and states bordering Pakistan. India said it shot down Pakistani drones. The Group of Seven countries on Friday urged maximum restraint and called on the two countries to engage in direct dialogue. The United Kingdom's High Commissioner to Pakistan, Jane Marriott, said in a statement on social media platform X that they were monitoring the developments closely. Sounds of explosions were also heard in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore and the northwestern city of Peshawar, as the fighting threatened to spread. At least 48 people have been killed since Wednesday, according to casualty estimates on both sides of the border that have not been independently verified. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
RNZ News
10-05-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Military offensive launched against India, Pakistan says
By Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam and Ariba Shahid , Reuters Security personnel standing guard near Karachi Port in Pakistan, on 9 May, amid ongoing border tensions between India and Pakistan. Photo: RIZWAN TABASSUM Pakistan says it has launched a military operation against India early on Saturday, targeting multiple bases including a missile storage site in northern India as the neighbours extended their worst fighting in nearly three decades. Pakistan's offensive came shortly after it said India had fired missiles at three air bases earlier on Saturday including one close to the capital, Islamabad, but Pakistani air defences intercepted most of them. Locked in a long-standing dispute over the region of Kashmir, the two countries have engaged in daily clashes since Wednesday when India launched strikes inside Pakistan on what it called militant bases. Pakistan vowed to retaliate. "BrahMos storage site has been taken out in general area Beas," Pakistan's military said in a message to journalists, adding that the Pathankot Airfield in India's western Punjab state and Udhampur Air Force Station in Indian-administered Kashmir were also hit. India's defence and foreign ministries did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours. India's military was expected to brief the media shortly, the ministry of defence said. Pakistan's information minister said in a post on social media site X that the military operation was named "Operation Bunyanun Marsoos". The term is taken from the Koran that means a firm, united structure. Sounds of explosions were reported in India's Srinagar and Jammu, where sirens were sounded, a Reuters witness said. "India through its planes, launched air to surface missiles... Nur Khan base, Mureed base and Shorkot base were made targets," Pakistan military spokesman Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said in a late-night televised statement. One of the air bases is in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, just outside the capital Islamabad, and the other two are in Pakistan's eastern province of Punjab, which borders India. The Pakistani military spokesman said only a few missiles made it past air defences, and those did not hit any "air assets", according to initial damage assessments. India has said its strikes on Wednesday, which kicked off the clashes between the countries, were in retaliation for a deadly attack on Hindu tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir last month. Pakistan denied India's accusations that it was involved in the tourist attack. Since Wednesday, the two countries have exchanged cross-border fire and shelling, and sent drones and missiles into each other's airspace. Much of the fighting on Friday was in Indian-administered Kashmir and neighbouring Indian states. India said it shot down Pakistani drones. Sounds of explosions were also heard in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore and the north-western city of Peshawar, as the fighting threatened to spread. At least 48 people have been killed since Wednesday, according to casualty estimates on both sides of the border that have not been independently verified. - Reuters
