Latest news with #MDMughal
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
People who fled Pakistan-administered Kashmir return after ceasefire
Hundreds of locals who fled the Pakistan-administered Kashmir region returned to their homes on Sunday, a day after Islamabad and New Delhi agreed to a ceasefire brokered by the US. AP video by MD Mughal
Asia Times
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Asia Times
Why India-Pakistan are most likely going to war
India conducted military strikes against Pakistan overnight, hitting numerous sites in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir and deeper into Pakistan itself. Security officials say precision strike weapon systems, including drones, were used to carry out the strikes. While there's still much uncertainty around what's happened, it is clear both sides are closer to a major conflict than they have been in years – perhaps decades. We've seen these kinds of crises before. India and Pakistan have fought full-scale wars many times over the years, in 1947, 1965, 1971 and 1999. There were also cross-border strikes between the two sides in 2016 and 2019 that did not lead to a larger war. These conflicts were limited because there was an understanding, given both sides possess nuclear weapons, that escalating to a full-scale war would be very dangerous. That imposed some control on both sides, or at least some caution. There was also external pressure from the United States and others on both occasions not to allow those conflicts to spiral out of control. While it's possible both sides will exercise similar restraint now, there may be less pressure from other countries to compel them to do so. In this context, tensions can escalate quickly. And when they do, it's difficult to get both sides to back down and return to where they were before. Volunteers recover a body from the rubble of a mosque damaged by a suspected Indian missile near Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. Photo: MD Mughal / AP India says it was retaliating for a terror attack last month on mostly Indian tourists in heavily militarised Kashmir, which both sides claim. The attack left 26 dead. There was a claim of responsibility after the attack from a group called the Resistance Front, but it was subsequently withdrawn, so there's some uncertainty about that. Indian sources suggest this group, which is relatively new, is an extension of a pre-existing militant group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, which has been based in Pakistan for many years. Pakistan has denied any involvement in the tourist attack. However, there has been good evidence in the past suggesting that even if the Pakistani government hasn't officially sanctioned these groups operating on its territory, there are parts of the Pakistani establishment or military that do support them. This could be ideologically, financially, or through other types of assistance. In previous terror attacks in India, weapons and other equipment have been sourced from Pakistan. In the Mumbai terror attack in 2008, for instance, the Indian government produced evidence it claimed showed the gunmen were being directed by handlers in Pakistan by phone. But as yet, we have no such evidence demonstrating Pakistan is connected to the tourist attack in Kashmir. India has also repeatedly asked Pakistan to shut down these groups. While the leaders have occasionally been put in jail, they've later been released, including the alleged mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attack. And madrassas (religious schools) that have long been accused of supplying recruits for militant groups are still permitted to operate in Pakistan, with little state control. Pakistan, meanwhile, claims that attacks in Kashmir are committed by local Kashmiris protesting against Indian 'occupation' or Pakistanis spontaneously moved to take action. These two positions obviously don't match up in any way, shape or form. It remains to be seen what cost either side is willing to pay to escalate tensions further. From an economic standpoint, there's very little cost to either side if a larger conflict breaks out. There's practically no trade between India and Pakistan. New Delhi has likely calculated that its fast-growing economy will not be harmed by its strikes and others will continue to trade and invest in India. The conclusion of a trade deal with the United Kingdom, after three years of negotiations, will reinforce that impression. The deal was signed on May 6, just before the Pakistan strikes. And from the standpoint of international reputation, neither side has much to lose. In past crises, Western countries were quick to condemn and criticize military actions committed by either side. But these days, most take the view that the long-simmering conflict is a bilateral issue, which India and Pakistan need to settle themselves. The main concern for both sides, then, is the political cost they would suffer from not taking military action. Before the terrorist attack on April 22, the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had claimed the security situation in Kashmir was improving, and ordinary Indians could safely travel in the region. Those claims were undermined by what occurred that day, making it crucial for the government to respond. And now, if Pakistan doesn't react to the Indian strikes, its government and especially its military would have a cost to pay, too. Despite a patchy record of success, Pakistan's army has long justified its outsize role in national politics by claiming that it alone stands between the Pakistani people and Indian aggression. If it fails to act now, that claim might look hollow. Indian Air Force soldiers arrive at Pampore in Indian-controlled Kashmir on May 7. Photo: Dar Yasin / AP via The Conversation So, how does this play out? The hope would be there's limited military action, lasting a few days, and then things calm down rapidly, as they have in the past. But there are no guarantees. And there are a few others willing to step in and help de-escalate the dispute. US President Donald Trump is mired in other conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza and with the Houthi rebels in Yemen, and his administration's diplomacy has so far been inept and ineffective. When asked about the Indian strike today, Trump replied it was a 'shame' and he 'hopes' it ends quickly. That's very different from the strong rhetoric we've seen from US presidents in the past when India and Pakistan have come to blows. New Delhi and Islamabad will likely have to settle this round themselves. And for whoever decides to blink or back down first, there may be a substantial political cost to pay. Ian Hall is professor of international relations, Griffith University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
India launches ‘Operation Sindoor', missiles hit several sites in Pakistan
India's military said it launched 'Operation Sindoor', striking nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, after which Islamabad said it had retaliated by striking Indian military targets, including downing several warplanes. The Indian strike and counterattack by Pakistan come amid soaring tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours after a deadly attack last month on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Islamabad, which denied any involvement. India's government said in a statement early on Wednesday that its military had attacked 'terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed'. 'Our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted. India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of targets and method of execution,' it said. Residents examine a building damaged by a suspected Indian missile attack near Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir [MD Mughal/AP Photo] Pakistani officials said at least eight people were killed and more than 35 others injured in India's attacks. The missiles struck locations in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and the country's eastern Punjab province. Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad, said the cities of Muzaffarabad and Kotli, both in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, were among the targets of the Indian strikes. 'Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, speaking to a foreign TV network, confirmed that at least five Indian aircraft have been shot down and that a number of Indian soldiers have been taken prisoner,' Hyder said. 'Pakistan said that it would respond to any Indian attack against Pakistan, and Pakistan is now responding to that Indian attack,' he said. 'Heavy shelling has now resumed on the Line of Control that separates Pakistan-administered Kashmir from Indian-administered Kashmir,' he added. A Pakistani military spokesman had earlier told the broadcaster Geo that at least five locations, including two mosques, had been hit. He had also said that Pakistan's response was under way, without providing details. In Punjab, missiles hit a mosque in the city of Bahawalpur, killing a child and wounding two civilians, the military said. Kashmir tensions escalate Following India's attacks, the armies of the two sides exchanged intense shelling and heavy gunfire across their frontier in disputed Kashmir in at least three places, the Reuters news agency reported, citing police and witnesses. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for maximum restraint from both sides. 'The Secretary-General is very concerned about the Indian military operations across the Line of Control and international border. He calls for maximum military restraint from both countries,' the spokesperson said. 'The world cannot afford a military confrontation between India and Pakistan.' United States President Donald Trump said the clashes were 'a shame'. 'I just hope it ends very quickly,' Trump said at the White House. The eruption of violence comes amid heightened tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours in the aftermath of an attack on tourists in Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir last month. India blamed Pakistan for the violence, in which 26 men were killed, and promised to respond. Pakistan denied that it had anything to do with the killings. Nitasha Kaul, the director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy, said the strikes are 'very concerning'. 'Once again, the worst affected are going to be the people in the region, the Kashmiris, who are caught between the competing and proprietorial and rival postures and attitudes of India and Pakistan,' Kaul told Al Jazeera. Still, she said, the escalation is 'not that surprising, because within India… there has been a domestic pressure building up for a more militarist response, given the fact that there is a particularly hyper-nationalist government in power. 'In that sense, sadly, this was a countdown to a greater escalation, and hopefully it won't proceed much further beyond what has already happened with these strikes,' Kaul added.
