Latest news with #IndianTourists
Bloomberg
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Why This River in India and Pakistan Is Causing So Much Angst
A major river system that flows through both India and Pakistan has been a source of ongoing tensions between the two countries for decades. But India's unilateral suspension of a water-sharing agreement in April, that's been in place with Pakistan for 65 years, signals a new low point in relations. India paused the Indus Waters Treaty within 24 hours of an attack in the disputed region of Kashmir on April 22 that killed mostly Indian tourists, for which India blames Pakistan. Pakistan has denied the allegations. The move by India to pause the treaty came as a surprise, especially as the pact — signed in 1960 — had previously managed to withstand multiple conflicts. However, India's dissatisfaction over some of its clauses, which it says are outdated, as well as Pakistan's frustration over India's hydropower buildout on the rivers, have been brewing for the past decade.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Winnipeggers worried about family as India-Pakistan tensions escalate
Some Winnipeggers from India and Pakistan say they're anxious as the armed confrontation between both countries escalates. The Pakistani military said Thursday two civilians have died and four soldiers were wounded after India launched attack drones into the country, according to The Associated Press. Those deaths come after Pakistan says at least 31 of its civilians were killed and about 50 wounded in strikes on Wednesday and in cross-border shelling across the frontier in Kashmir that followed, while India says 16 of its civilians died, including five children, and 59 were wounded. The latest exchanges come after India said it hit "terrorist infrastructure" in Pakistan in the early hours of Wednesday in retaliation for an April 22 attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir, in which 26 people — mostly Hindu tourists — were killed. Pakistan denies any involvement in the attack in the long-disputed region, which has been at the centre of several armed clashes between both nuclear-armed countries in the decades since they gained independence. Sukhmeet Singh, who has lived in Winnipeg for almost three years, still has a lot of family in Indian Punjab, which borders Pakistan, including his father. Singh said he's worried about their safety. "They are doing blackout in [the cities of] Gurdaspur, Pathankot … from 9 to 5 p.m.," he said. "They're giving [them] things to do, like get sufficient supply, stock … basic food, water and everything and get yourself a safe place, get your cars filled with gas in case they have to evacuate." WATCH l Winnipeggers anxious about India-Pakistan tensions: Jamil Mohammad, who is from Pakistani Punjab and has lived in Canada for about 25 years, is also worried. His native city of Bahawalpur was one of the places hit by Indian missile strikes Wednesday. Mohammad said he first heard about it from his nephew, who is still in the city. "I was very scared, because I have family over there in Bahawalpur, and also in Rawalpindi," where a drone fell, he said. "I was shaking," Mohammad said. "Both sides, they are killing innocent people. So we are with the innocent people." Indian authorities said Thursday the country shot down several drones aimed at military targets. Pakistan's ambassador to the U.S. said in a Thursday interview with CNN both sides have had contacts at the level of their respective national security councils, but he maintained it's India's responsibility to de-escalate tensions. The United Nations and countries like China, Russia and the U.S. have urged both countries to act with restraint. Both Mohammad and Singh said they would like to see other countries and the UN step in to mediate the conflict. "I don't know what they [are] playing in that area, the government of Pakistan and government of India," Mohammad said. "But we want peace." Singh said no one wins in a war. "We are being separated by flags, but still the tears are same," he said. "We are being separated by the borders, but blood is same, so I think they should work on it."
CBC
09-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Winnipeggers worried about family as India-Pakistan tensions escalate
Social Sharing Some Winnipeggers from India and Pakistan say they're anxious as the armed confrontation between both countries escalates. The Pakistani military said Thursday two civilians have died and four soldiers were wounded after India launched attack drones into the country, according to The Associated Press. Those deaths come after Pakistan says at least 31 of its civilians were killed and about 50 wounded in strikes on Wednesday and in cross-border shelling across the frontier in Kashmir that followed, while India says 16 of its civilians died, including five children, and 59 were wounded. The latest exchanges come after India said it hit "terrorist infrastructure" in Pakistan in the early hours of Wednesday in retaliation for an April 22 attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir, in which 26 people — mostly Hindu tourists — were killed. Pakistan denies any involvement in the attack in the long-disputed region, which has been at the centre of several armed clashes between both nuclear-armed countries in the decades since they gained independence. Sukhmeet Singh, who has lived in Winnipeg for almost three years, still has a lot of family in Indian Punjab, which borders Pakistan, including his father. Singh said he's worried about their safety. "They are doing blackout in [the cities of] Gurdaspur, Pathankot … from 9 to 5 p.m.," he said. "They're giving [them] things to do, like get sufficient supply, stock … basic food, water and everything and get yourself a safe place, get your cars filled with gas in case they have to evacuate." WATCH l Winnipeggers anxious about India-Pakistan tensions: Winnipeggers from India, Pakistan worried about relatives as tensions rise 2 hours ago Duration 2:03 Hostilities between India and Pakistan continue to intensify in the Kashmir region, with each accusing the other of aggression. With no signs of tensions easing, some Winnipeg residents from India and Pakistan say they're worried about relatives back home. Jamil Mohammad, who is from Pakistani Punjab and has lived in Canada for about 25 years, is also worried. His native city of Bahawalpur was one of the places hit by Indian missile strikes Wednesday. Mohammad said he first heard about it from his nephew, who is still in the city. "I was very scared, because I have family over there in Bahawalpur, and also in Rawalpindi," where a drone fell, he said. "I was shaking," Mohammad said. "Both sides, they are killing innocent people. So we are with the innocent people." Indian authorities said Thursday the country shot down several drones aimed at military targets. Pakistan's ambassador to the U.S. said in a Thursday interview with CNN both sides have had contacts at the level of their respective national security councils, but he maintained it's India's responsibility to de-escalate tensions. The United Nations and countries like China, Russia and the U.S. have urged both countries to act with restraint. Both Mohammad and Singh said they would like to see other countries and the UN step in to mediate the conflict. "I don't know what they [are] playing in that area, the government of Pakistan and government of India," Mohammad said. "But we want peace." Singh said no one wins in a war. "We are being separated by flags, but still the tears are same," he said. "We are being separated by the borders, but blood is same, so I think they should work on it."
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pakistan shoots down Indian drone near naval base in the city of Lahore, officials say
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan's air defense system shot down an Indian drone early Thursday near a naval air base in the eastern city of Lahore, Pakistani police and security officials said, as India evacuated thousands of people villages near the two countries' highly militarized frontier in the disputed region of Kashmir. The incident comes a day after India launched strikes in Pakistan's Punjab province and Pakistan-controlled Kashmir that killed 31 civilians, including women and children, according to Pakistani officials. Tensions have escalated since April 22, when gunmen killed 26 people, mostly Indian Hindu tourists, in India-controlled Kashmir. India accused Pakistan of backing militants who carried out the attack, something Islamabad has denied. Local police official Mohammad Rizwan said only that a drone was downed near Waltan airport, a small airfield in a residential area of Lahore that also contains military installations, about 25 kilometers (16 miles) east of the border with India. Local media reported that two additional drones were shot down in other cities in Punjab province, of which Lahore is the capital. Two security officials say a small Indian drone was taken down by Pakistan's air defense system, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media. It was not immediately clear whether the drone was armed. The incident could not be independently verified, and Indian officials did not immediately comment. India said its strikes Wednesday targeted at least nine sites in Pakistan linked to planning terrorist attacks against India. In response, Pakistan's air force shot down five Indian fighter jets, its military said. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed overnight to avenge the killings but gave no details, raising fears of a broader conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. Across the de-facto border in Indian-controlled Kashmir, tens of thousands of people slept in shelters overnight, officials and residents said Thursday. Indian authorities evacuated civilians from dozens of villages living close to the highly militarized Line of Control overnight while some living in border towns like Uri and Poonch left their homes on their own, three police and civil officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with departmental regulations.
Telegraph
07-05-2025
- Telegraph
Is it safe to visit Pakistan and India? What tourists need to know
The world is watching nervously after an outbreak of hostilities between India and Pakistan late on Tuesday evening. At around 9.30pm UK time, the Indian ministry of defence declared that the country's armed forces had launched air strikes against nine locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-controlled areas. This military action was confirmed by Pakistan, with the announcement that missiles fired from Indian airspace had struck the cities of Kotli, Muzaffarabad and Bahawalpur. India says it has launched what it is calling 'Operation Sindoor' in response to an attack on Indian tourists by armed militants near the town of Pahalgam, in Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir, a little over two weeks ago. Twenty-eight Indian civilians were killed when gunmen opened fire at a scenic resort, Baisaran, on the afternoon of April 22. Is it safe to travel to India? India is a very large country, the world's seventh biggest – and the current crisis is taking place in its far north, around its disputed border region with Pakistan, in the shadow of the Himalayas. There is a great deal of distance between the conflict zone and some of India's main tourist destinations. There are, for example, 1,275 miles between Srinagar – the largest city in Jammu and Kashmir – and Mumbai, on the west coast in Maharashtra, and 2,100 miles between Srinagar and Kochi, at the southern tip of the country, in Kerala. That said, the situation is ongoing, and travellers should keep abreast of the latest news. Is it safe to travel to Pakistan? Pakistan is not a mainstream destination for travellers from the UK. Around 270,000 British tourists journey to Pakistan every year, many of them on visits to extended family. As with India, the situation is tense. The government in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, has called the attack 'shameful and cowardly', and has said that 'Pakistan will respond to this at a time and place of its own choosing'. Potential travellers should keep themselves informed of any developments. Does the Foreign Office advise against travel to India? At the time of writing, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is not advising British citizens against all travel to India. It has updated its information to reference the ongoing situation in Kashmir, and is now warning 'against all travel [to] within 10km [six miles] of the India-Pakistan border'. It also advises against 'all travel to the region of Jammu and Kashmir', with the exceptions of Ladakh and the city of Jammu. Its advice against 'all but essential travel' to the north-easterly state of Manipur, on the opposite side of the country, along the border with Myanmar, is a separate issue. However, the FCDO has not adjusted its recommendations on wider travel to India – or issued any instructions against visiting the likes of Delhi, Agra, Kolkata, Mumbai or Goa. You can read the full FCDO advice page for India here. Does the Foreign Office advise against travel to Pakistan? At the time of writing, the FCDO is not advising British citizens against all travel to Pakistan. However, it does advise against travel to a reasonably long list of places within the country, including its border with Afghanistan, as well as the border with India (plus Balochistan province in the south). You can read the full FCDO advice page for Pakistan here. Have flights to India and Pakistan been cancelled? The crisis has had an inevitable effect upon air travel. The impact has been most keenly felt by Asian airlines, including Korean Air and Taiwan-based China Airlines. Both carriers have announced cancellations or the rerouting of flights in the wake of the attack. Lufthansa and Air France had already taken the decision to avoid Pakistani airspace prior to yesterday evening's outbreak of hostilities. This is likely to mean longer flight times. However, there have been no noticeable flight cancellations by major European airlines. British Airways currently flies to five cities in India (Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai), as well as to Islamabad. At the time of writing, the airline has not issued a statement about the crisis, or made any indication that flights will be suspended. Where and what is Kashmir? Kashmir is a large region at the northern end of the Indian subcontinent, framed by mountain ranges such as the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal peaks. It has a long and complicated history, and its precise sovereignty is an ongoing source of disagreement. Since 1947, it has been divided between three different countries: India, Pakistan and China. Can I cancel my holiday to India or Pakistan? Travellers with forthcoming holiday plans in India or Pakistan should certainly exercise caution, and keep up to date with the latest developments. However, unless and until the Foreign Office issues formal advice against travel to the country in question, tour operators will not be obliged to offer refunds to customers who wish to cancel their trip.
