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Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
India and Pakistan are both claiming victory after Wednesday's clash. Will cooler heads prevail?
A tense silence settled over India and Pakistan as millions woke Thursday: no more missiles had been fired, schools in most areas had reopened and both sides appeared to be claiming victory. It was a stark difference to the day prior, when palpable panic rocked both nations after New Delhi launched targeted military strikes on its neighbor, while Islamabad claimed it had shot down its rival's fighter jets. 'Strokes of justice,' ran an editorial from one of India's leading English newspapers commending the country's 'sharp' and 'resolute' response to the massacre of 26 people in Indian-administered Kashmir, at the hands of militants. A headline from The Indian Express echoed a similar tune: 'Justice Served' it said across the front page. In Pakistan, the response from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was more bellicose. He has vowed to 'avenge' the deaths of 31 people Pakistan says were killed in India's strikes but still appeared to declare triumph for its apparent shooting of India's airplanes. 'It only took a few hours for the enemy to fall on its knees,' he said in a late-night address to the nation. India says it struck 'terrorist infrastructure' belonging to two Islamist groups – Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed – who have been accused of being behind some the deadliest militant attacks on the country. Wednesday's strikes did not target military infrastructure and didn't kill civilians, New Delhi said, potentially giving India and Pakistan an opportunity to find a way to avoid an all-out war. One location India struck was deep in Pakistan's Punjab province, the deepest attack in Pakistan's undisputed territory since both countries fought a major war in 1971. It also targeted multiple other locations in Punjab – the heartland of the powerful military and home of the Sharif government – and hit a mosque, according to Pakistani officials, angering millions in the Muslim-majority nation. What happens now, analysts say, mostly depends on Islamabad's next move. 'All eyes are on Pakistan,' said Washington-based South Asia analyst, Michael Kugelman. 'If it decides to save face and claim victory — perhaps by pointing to the downing of Indian jets (which New Delhi has not confirmed) — and call it a day, an off ramp could be in sight.' But he warned 'all bets would be off' should Pakistan decide to strike back. Most analysts agree the nuclear-armed neighbors cannot afford another battle. India and Pakistan have already fought three wars over Kashmir, a contested region they both claim in its entirety and each control a part of. Another conflict could have catastrophic consequences. Since its birth seven decades ago in the partition of what was British India, Pakistan – now home to 230 million people – has faced mounting challenges, from political instability to an alarming militant insurgency, climate catastrophes and economic disarray. India is seemingly in a stronger position; its military is seen as superior in any conventional conflict based on number alone and it boasts an economy more than 10 times the size of Pakistan's. But it too would have something to lose should the conflict escalate, according to Tanvi Madan, a senior fellow in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution. 'Largely on the basis of what we've seen in previous times, these are two rational actors who don't want a broader war,' Madan said. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to elevate India's status on the global stage, bidding to host the Olympics and seeking to overtake China as the world's manufacturing hub. Not to mention, India already faces security threats on multiple fronts — particularly along contested borders with China. Analysts say there are signs both countries are serious about de-escalation. But any further retaliation from either side could quickly spiral into an all-out conflict. Both sides, for example, have continued to exchange fire across the de factor border in Kashmir. India was quick to project that its response to the April 22 massacre was 'focused, measured and non-escalatory' and make clear that they were in response to the tourist's massacre. Top officials in New Delhi reached out to key counterparts in the United States, Middle East and Russia, among others, 'presumably to encourage international pressure for Pakistan to avoid escalation,' said Nisha Biswal, Senior Advisor at The Asia Group. In a sign of a return to normalcy after the strikes, Pakistan said it reopened its airspace and schools across the country, and it appeared to be business as usual on the streets in the capital Islamabad on Thursday morning. Pakistan's leaders touted a victory by the country's air force, saying five Indian fighter jets were shot down during an hour-long battle fought at ranges over 160 kilometers (100 miles). India's leaders have said little in response to those claims and have not acknowledged any aircraft losses. The Pakistanis have yet to show any evidence proving they downed fighter jets, but a French Defense Ministry source said at least one of India's newest and most-advanced warplanes – a French-made Rafale fighter jet – was lost in the battle. If there have indeed been losses for India, Pakistan could claim victory 'even if the circumstances are murky,' said Milan Vaishnav, a senior fellow and director of the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 'This would allow Pakistan to claim it has imposed costs on Indian military targets.' Yet, amid the fog of war, Pakistan's powerful army general Asim Munir had already vowed to match any aggression from India. And Munir, who is known for his hardline stance on Hindu-nationalist Modi, has a reputation of being more assertive than his predecessor Qamar Javed Bajwa. Meanwhile there have been many voices within Modi's Hindu nationalist party pushing for a decisive blow against Pakistan for years. Kugelman, the South Asia analyst, said the US, which has historically interceded in these crises, could try to defuse the tension, but it's unclear how much bandwidth the Trump administration is willing to allocate. 'China has called for de-escalation, but its fraught ties with India rule it out as a viable intermediary. The top mediator candidates are the Arab Gulf states, especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates,' he said, given their strong ties with both nations. Qatar was quick to urge diplomacy in the hours after Wednesday's strikes. While most analysts think there is an off-ramp for both nations, they all agree the situation remains fluid and tense. 'This crisis is as unpredictable as it is dangerous—an unsettling combination,' Kugelman added. CNN's Sophia Saifi, Azaz Syed, Aishwarya S Iyer, Esha Mitra and Vedika Sud contributed to this report.
CNN
08-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
India and Pakistan are both claiming victory after Wednesday's clash. Will cooler heads prevail?
CNN — A tense silence settled over India and Pakistan as millions woke Thursday: no more missiles had been fired, schools in most areas had reopened and both sides appeared to be claiming victory. It was a stark difference to the day prior, when palpable panic rocked both nations after New Delhi launched targeted military strikes on its neighbor, while Islamabad claimed it had shot down its rival's fighter jets. 'Strokes of justice,' ran an editorial from one of India's leading English newspapers commending the country's 'sharp' and 'resolute' response to the massacre of 26 people in Indian-administered Kashmir, at the hands of militants. A headline from The Indian Express echoed a similar tune: 'Justice Served' it said across the front page. In Pakistan, the response from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was more bellicose. He has vowed to 'avenge' the deaths of 31 people Pakistan says were killed in India's strikes but still appeared to declare triumph for its apparent shooting of India's airplanes. 'It only took a few hours for the enemy to fall on its knees,' he said in a late-night address to the nation. India says it struck 'terrorist infrastructure' belonging to two Islamist groups – Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed – who have been accused of being behind some the deadliest militant attacks on the country. Wednesday's strikes did not target military infrastructure and didn't kill civilians, New Delhi said, potentially giving India and Pakistan an opportunity to find a way to avoid an all-out war. One location India struck was deep in Pakistan's Punjab province, the deepest attack in Pakistan's undisputed territory since both countries fought a major war in 1971. It also targeted multiple other locations in Punjab – the heartland of the powerful military and home of the Sharif government – and hit a mosque, according to Pakistani officials, angering millions in the Muslim-majority nation. What happens now, analysts say, mostly depends on Islamabad's next move. 'All eyes are on Pakistan,' said Washington-based South Asia analyst, Michael Kugelman. 'If it decides to save face and claim victory — perhaps by pointing to the downing of Indian jets (which New Delhi has not confirmed) — and call it a day, an off ramp could be in sight.' But he warned 'all bets would be off' should Pakistan decide to strike back. Most analysts agree the nuclear-armed neighbors cannot afford another battle. India and Pakistan have already fought three wars over Kashmir, a contested region they both claim in its entirety and each control a part of. Another conflict could have catastrophic consequences. Since its birth seven decades ago in the partition of what was British India, Pakistan – now home to 230 million people – has faced mounting challenges, from political instability to an alarming militant insurgency, climate catastrophes and economic disarray. India is seemingly in a stronger position; its military is seen as superior in any conventional conflict based on number alone and it boasts an economy more than 10 times the size of Pakistan's. But it too would have something to lose should the conflict escalate, according to Tanvi Madan, a senior fellow in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution. 'Largely on the basis of what we've seen in previous times, these are two rational actors who don't want a broader war,' Madan said. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to elevate India's status on the global stage, bidding to host the Olympics and seeking to overtake China as the world's manufacturing hub. Not to mention, India already faces security threats on multiple fronts — particularly along contested borders with China. Analysts say there are signs both countries are serious about de-escalation. But any further retaliation from either side could quickly spiral into an all-out conflict. Both sides, for example, have continued to exchange fire across the de factor border in Kashmir. India was quick to project that its response to the April 22 massacre was 'focused, measured and non-escalatory' and make clear that they were in response to the tourist's massacre. Top officials in New Delhi reached out to key counterparts in the United States, Middle East and Russia, among others, 'presumably to encourage international pressure for Pakistan to avoid escalation,' said Nisha Biswal, Senior Advisor at The Asia Group. In a sign of a return to normalcy after the strikes, Pakistan said it reopened its airspace and schools across the country, and it appeared to be business as usual on the streets in the capital Islamabad on Thursday morning. Pakistan's leaders touted a victory by the country's air force, saying five Indian fighter jets were shot down during an hour-long battle fought at ranges over 160 kilometers (100 miles). India's leaders have said little in response to those claims and have not acknowledged any aircraft losses. The Pakistanis have yet to show any evidence proving they downed fighter jets, but a French Defense Ministry source said at least one of India's newest and most-advanced warplanes – a French-made Rafale fighter jet – was lost in the battle. If there have indeed been losses for India, Pakistan could claim victory 'even if the circumstances are murky,' said Milan Vaishnav, a senior fellow and director of the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 'This would allow Pakistan to claim it has imposed costs on Indian military targets.' Yet, amid the fog of war, Pakistan's powerful army general Asim Munir had already vowed to match any aggression from India. And Munir, who is known for his hardline stance on Hindu-nationalist Modi, has a reputation of being more assertive than his predecessor Qamar Javed Bajwa. Meanwhile there have been many voices within Modi's Hindu nationalist party pushing for a decisive blow against Pakistan for years. Kugelman, the South Asia analyst, said the US, which has historically interceded in these crises, could try to defuse the tension, but it's unclear how much bandwidth the Trump administration is willing to allocate. 'China has called for de-escalation, but its fraught ties with India rule it out as a viable intermediary. The top mediator candidates are the Arab Gulf states, especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates,' he said, given their strong ties with both nations. Qatar was quick to urge diplomacy in the hours after Wednesday's strikes. While most analysts think there is an off-ramp for both nations, they all agree the situation remains fluid and tense. 'This crisis is as unpredictable as it is dangerous—an unsettling combination,' Kugelman added.
CNN
08-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
India and Pakistan are both claiming victory after Wednesday's clash. Will cooler heads prevail?
CNN — A tense silence settled over India and Pakistan as millions woke Thursday: no more missiles had been fired, schools in most areas had reopened and both sides appeared to be claiming victory. It was a stark difference to the day prior, when palpable panic rocked both nations after New Delhi launched targeted military strikes on its neighbor, while Islamabad claimed it had shot down its rival's fighter jets. 'Strokes of justice,' ran an editorial from one of India's leading English newspapers commending the country's 'sharp' and 'resolute' response to the massacre of 26 people in Indian-administered Kashmir, at the hands of militants. A headline from The Indian Express echoed a similar tune: 'Justice Served' it said across the front page. In Pakistan, the response from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was more bellicose. He has vowed to 'avenge' the deaths of 31 people Pakistan says were killed in India's strikes but still appeared to declare triumph for its apparent shooting of India's airplanes. 'It only took a few hours for the enemy to fall on its knees,' he said in a late-night address to the nation. India says it struck 'terrorist infrastructure' belonging to two Islamist groups – Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed – who have been accused of being behind some the deadliest militant attacks on the country. Wednesday's strikes did not target military infrastructure and didn't kill civilians, New Delhi said, potentially giving India and Pakistan an opportunity to find a way to avoid an all-out war. One location India struck was deep in Pakistan's Punjab province, the deepest attack in Pakistan's undisputed territory since both countries fought a major war in 1971. It also targeted multiple other locations in Punjab – the heartland of the powerful military and home of the Sharif government – and hit a mosque, according to Pakistani officials, angering millions in the Muslim-majority nation. What happens now, analysts say, mostly depends on Islamabad's next move. 'All eyes are on Pakistan,' said Washington-based South Asia analyst, Michael Kugelman. 'If it decides to save face and claim victory — perhaps by pointing to the downing of Indian jets (which New Delhi has not confirmed) — and call it a day, an off ramp could be in sight.' But he warned 'all bets would be off' should Pakistan decide to strike back. Most analysts agree the nuclear-armed neighbors cannot afford another battle. India and Pakistan have already fought three wars over Kashmir, a contested region they both claim in its entirety and each control a part of. Another conflict could have catastrophic consequences. Since its birth seven decades ago in the partition of what was British India, Pakistan – now home to 230 million people – has faced mounting challenges, from political instability to an alarming militant insurgency, climate catastrophes and economic disarray. India is seemingly in a stronger position; its military is seen as superior in any conventional conflict based on number alone and it boasts an economy more than 10 times the size of Pakistan's. But it too would have something to lose should the conflict escalate, according to Tanvi Madan, a senior fellow in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution. 'Largely on the basis of what we've seen in previous times, these are two rational actors who don't want a broader war,' Madan said. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to elevate India's status on the global stage, bidding to host the Olympics and seeking to overtake China as the world's manufacturing hub. Not to mention, India already faces security threats on multiple fronts — particularly along contested borders with China. Analysts say there are signs both countries are serious about de-escalation. But any further retaliation from either side could quickly spiral into an all-out conflict. Both sides, for example, have continued to exchange fire across the de factor border in Kashmir. India was quick to project that its response to the April 22 massacre was 'focused, measured and non-escalatory' and make clear that they were in response to the tourist's massacre. Top officials in New Delhi reached out to key counterparts in the United States, Middle East and Russia, among others, 'presumably to encourage international pressure for Pakistan to avoid escalation,' said Nisha Biswal, Senior Advisor at The Asia Group. In a sign of a return to normalcy after the strikes, Pakistan said it reopened its airspace and schools across the country, and it appeared to be business as usual on the streets in the capital Islamabad on Thursday morning. Pakistan's leaders touted a victory by the country's air force, saying five Indian fighter jets were shot down during an hour-long battle fought at ranges over 160 kilometers (100 miles). India's leaders have said little in response to those claims and have not acknowledged any aircraft losses. The Pakistanis have yet to show any evidence proving they downed fighter jets, but a French Defense Ministry source said at least one of India's newest and most-advanced warplanes – a French-made Rafale fighter jet – was lost in the battle. If there have indeed been losses for India, Pakistan could claim victory 'even if the circumstances are murky,' said Milan Vaishnav, a senior fellow and director of the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 'This would allow Pakistan to claim it has imposed costs on Indian military targets.' Yet, amid the fog of war, Pakistan's powerful army general Asim Munir had already vowed to match any aggression from India. And Munir, who is known for his hardline stance on Hindu-nationalist Modi, has a reputation of being more assertive than his predecessor Qamar Javed Bajwa. Meanwhile there have been many voices within Modi's Hindu nationalist party pushing for a decisive blow against Pakistan for years. Kugelman, the South Asia analyst, said the US, which has historically interceded in these crises, could try to defuse the tension, but it's unclear how much bandwidth the Trump administration is willing to allocate. 'China has called for de-escalation, but its fraught ties with India rule it out as a viable intermediary. The top mediator candidates are the Arab Gulf states, especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates,' he said, given their strong ties with both nations. Qatar was quick to urge diplomacy in the hours after Wednesday's strikes. While most analysts think there is an off-ramp for both nations, they all agree the situation remains fluid and tense. 'This crisis is as unpredictable as it is dangerous—an unsettling combination,' Kugelman added.
News.com.au
08-05-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
Pakistan promises to ‘avenge each drop of blood' after Indian air strikes as world frantically urges de-escalation
The Prime Minister of Pakistan has promised to 'avenge each drop of blood' spilt in India's air strikes, in a chilling indication that tensions between two of the world's nuclear powers are likely to keep escalating. India said Wednesday's missile strikes were launched in response to a terrorist attack by Islamist militants in the Indian-administered part of Kashmir. That attack on April 22, in the town Pahalgam, targeted Hindu tourists. The perpetrators killed 26 people, 25 of whom were Indian. Pakistan has denied any connection to it. Nevertheless, the Indian military launched 'Operation Sindoor' on Wednesday to, in its words, hold 'accountable' those responsible for the 'barbaric' attack, specifically the terrorist groups Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed. It targeted multiple sites in the Pakistani-administered part of Kashmir, as well as inside Pakistan itself. The death toll currently stands at 43, and according to Pakistan, 31 of those victims were civilians. India says 12 people have been killed, in turn, by Pakistani shelling. And Pakistan claims to have shot down five Indian jets. 'Our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature,' India claimed in an initial statement about the strikes. 'No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted. India has demonstrated considerable restraint in the selection of targets and method of execution.' The military said it had targeted 'terrorist infrastructure from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed'. But Pakistan called the strikes 'unprovoked' and 'a heinous act of aggression', pledging that they would 'not go unpunished'. 'Every drop of blood' There have been several such comments, from various government officials, in the last 24 hours. During an address to the nation late on Wednesday, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif committed to seeking retribution. 'We make this pledge: that we will avenge each drop of the blood of these martyrs,' he said. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told The Guardian it was 'too premature' to discuss specific retaliatory measures publicly, but Pakistan would be willing to go to 'any extent' to protect itself. 'Yes, there is a huge economic loss attached to any full-fledged war,' he conceded. 'But when the question is of sovereignty, integrity of the country, territorial integrity, the dignity of the nation, then there is no price.' Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif warned it 'won't take long to settle the score', though he said Pakistan would hit only military targets inside India, avoiding civilians. And a spokesman for the military, Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, said the armed forces had been 'authorised' to 'respond in self-defence at a time, place and manner' of their choosing. World urges both nations to 'stop' The international community is frantically trying to de-escalate the situation. US President Donald Trump spoke to reporters at the White House today after a swearing in event for America's new ambassador to China, David Purdue. 'My position is I get along with both,' he said of Pakistan and India. 'I know both very well, and I want to see them work it out. I want to see them stop, and hopefully they can stop now. 'They've gone tit-for-tat, so hopefully they can stop now. But I know both. We get along with both the countries very well, good relationships with both, and I want to see it stop. 'And if I can do anything to help, I will be there.' A spokesman for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stressed that 'the world cannot afford a military confrontation between India and Pakistan'. Mr Guterres is calling for 'maximum military restraint' from both parties. The British government is also urging India and Pakistan to 'show restraint', and to 'engage in direct dialogue to find a swift, diplomatic path forward'. 'I have made clear to my counterparts in India and Pakistan that if this escalates further, nobody wins,' said Foreign Secretary David Lammy. 'We understand India's desire to protect itself against the scourge of terrorism,' said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot. 'But we obviously call on both India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, to avoid escalation and, of course, to protect civilians.' 'Panic among everyone' Pakistan and India have exchanged heavy artillery fire along the Line of Control that divides Kashmir, which both countries claim in full but administer separately. The nations have fought two full-scale wars over the divided territory since they were carved out of the subcontinent after gaining independence from British rule in 1947. Residents have spoken of the terror these latest strikes caused. 'There were terrible sounds during the night, there was panic among everyone,' said Muhammad Salman, who lives close to a mosque in Pakistan-administered Kashmir that was hit by an Indian strike. 'We are moving to a safer place. We are homeless now,' added 24-year-old Tariq Mir, who was hit in the leg by shrapnel. On Wednesday night, the Pakistani military spokesman said firing was 'ongoing' at the Line of Control. The largest Indian strike was on an Islamic seminary near the Punjab city Bahawalpur, which killed 13 people, according to the Pakistan military. A government health and education complex in Muridke, 30 kilometres from Lahore, was blown apart, along with the mosque in Muzaffarabad, the main city of Pakistan-administered Kashmir. That strike killed the mosque's caretaker. Four children were among those killed.
Reuters
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Reduced to rubble: India strikes alleged headquarters of militant groups in Pakistan's heartland
MURIDKE, Pakistan, May 7 (Reuters) - Video footage from the early hours of Wednesday shows a bright flash from the residential Islamic seminary outside Bahawalpur in central Pakistan as India attacked its neighbour in response to the killing of Indian tourists in Kashmir. The seminary was emptied of its students in recent days as speculation grew that would be targeted by India, but the family of Masood Azhar, founder of the Jaish-e-Mohammed Islamist militant group, was still there, according to the group. Ten of Azhar's relatives were among 13 people killed in the strike, including women and children, the Pakistani military said. Thousands of people turned out for their funerals at a sports stadium later in the day, shouting "Allah Akbar", or God is Great, and other religious chants. "(Indian Prime Minister Narendra) Modi's brutality has broken all norms," the group said in a statement. "The grief and shock are indescribable". It said that five of those killed were children and the others included Azhar's sister and her husband. It did not respond to a request for comment on why the family was still at the site. Azhar, who has not been seen for years, and his brother, Abdul Rauf Asghar, deputy head of the group, did not appear to have attended the funeral prayers. The road to the site was cordoned off after the strike. Further north, around half an hour after midnight, four Indian missiles hit a sprawling complex in Muridke over six minutes, a local government official said. The attack demolished a mosque and adjacent administration building and buried three people in the rubble. A sign outside describes the site as a government health and educational complex, but India says it is associated with militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). Delhi and Washington blame LeT for the 2008 attack on the Indian city of Mumbai that killed more than 160 people. LeT, which has has denied responsibility for that attack, is banned. The attack left other buildings in the complex untouched. A local official said that normally there were up to 3,500 staff and students at the site, but almost everyone had been evacuated in recent days as they feared it would become a target. Hafiz Saeed, leader of LeT and its successor organizations, is in a Pakistani jail since being convicted in 2020, on terror financing charges. He says his network, which spans 300 seminaries and schools, hospitals, a publishing house and ambulance services, has no ties to militant groups. Delhi said it had conducted pinpoint strikes on the two headquarters of its militant adversaries, part of what it said were nine "terrorist camps" targeted. "Over the last three decades Pakistan has systematically built terror infrastructure," it said in a briefing on the attacks. Pakistan said India had hit six sites, killing 26 people and wounding 46, all "innocent civilians". Officials and experts said India's attack on its neighbour, its most significant in decades, fulfilled a long-cherished goal, but Islamabad warned that it would hit back. The conflict between India and Pakistan has been confined in recent decades mostly to the disputed mountainous region of Kashmir. But the air strikes in the towns of Bahawalpur and Muridke were seen in Islamabad as a major escalation. India said seven of its targets were used by Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, both Islamist groups designated "terrorist" organisations by the U.N. Security Council. India launched the attacks in response to the killing of 26 people, mostly tourists in Indian Kashmir last month. Jaish says that it carries out educational and charity work in Pakistan and its militant activities are only in India. Delhi says that it runs training camps in Pakistan, as well as indoctrination schools, and that it launches militants into India. For decades Hindu-majority India has accused Pakistan of supporting Islamist militants in attacks on Indian interests, especially in Kashmir. Pakistan denies such support and in turn accuses India of supporting separatist rebels in Pakistan, which New Delhi denies.
