Latest news with #Pakistani-held
Gulf Today
7 hours ago
- Business
- Gulf Today
Pakistan 'ready for talks with India,' but not desperate, says foreign minister
Pakistan is "ready but not desperate" for talks with India, its foreign minister said on Wednesday, underlining the lack of a thaw in relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours following their worst military conflict in decades. Both sides used fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery last month in four days of clashes, their worst fighting in decades, before a ceasefire the US said it brokered on May 10. India has denied any third party role in the ceasefire. "Whenever they ask for a dialogue, at whatever level, we are ready but we are not desperate," Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told a news conference in Islamabad. The spark for the fighting was an April 22 attack in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 26 people, most of them tourists. New Delhi blamed the incident on "terrorists" backed by Pakistan, a charge denied by Islamabad. Dar said Pakistan wanted a comprehensive dialogue on a range of issues including water, whereas India wanted to focus only on terrorism. "That's not on. Nobody else is more serious than us. It takes two to tango," he said, referring to comments by Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar that the talks should only cover the issue of terrorism. The Indian foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Dar's remarks. New Delhi has previously said the only matter left to discuss with Pakistan was the vacation of what India describes as Pakistani-held territory in Kashmir - a disputed Himalayan region that both nations claim in full but rule in part. Pakistan is keen to discuss water rights after India held "in abeyance" the Indus Waters Treaty following the April 22 attack. The treaty guarantees water for 80% of Pakistan's farms from three rivers that flow from India. Reuters
Straits Times
12 hours ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Pakistan 'ready but not desperate' for talks with India, says foreign minister
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, attends the signing ceremony of the Convention on the Establishment of The International Organization for Mediation (IOMed) in Hong Kong, China May 30, 2025. REUTERS/Bertha Wang/File Photo Pakistan 'ready but not desperate' for talks with India, says foreign minister ISLAMABAD - Pakistan is "ready but not desperate" for talks with arch-rival India, its foreign minister said on Wednesday, underlining the lack of a thaw in relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours following their worst military conflict in decades. Both sides used fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery last month in four days of clashes, their worst fighting in decades, before a ceasefire the U.S. said it brokered on May 10. India has denied any third party role in the ceasefire. "Whenever they ask for a dialogue, at whatever level, we are ready but we are not desperate," Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told a news conference in Islamabad. The spark for the fighting was an April 22 attack in Indian Kashmir that killed 26 people, most of them tourists. New Delhi blamed the incident on "terrorists" backed by Pakistan, a charge denied by Islamabad. Dar said Pakistan wanted a comprehensive dialogue on a range of issues including water, whereas India wanted to focus only on terrorism. "That's not on. Nobody else is more serious than us. It takes two to tango," he said, referring to comments by Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar that the talks should only cover the issue of terrorism. The Indian foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Dar's remarks. New Delhi has previously said the only matter left to discuss with Pakistan was the vacation of what India describes as Pakistani-held territory in Kashmir - a disputed Himalayan region that both nations claim in full but rule in part. Pakistan is keen to discuss water rights after India held "in abeyance" the Indus Waters Treaty following the April 22 attack. The treaty guarantees water for 80% of Pakistan's farms from three rivers that flow from India. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
07-05-2025
- Politics
- The Star
On Pakistan's side of Kashmir, locals fear they'll be the first to face India's ire
MUZAFFARABAD, Kashmir: Families are reinforcing their bunkers and confirming evacuation plans. Hospitals have stocked up on essential medicines. Schoolchildren are being trained on the essentials of first aid. All across the Pakistani-held section of Kashmir, there is an air of emergency, a persistent trepidation as the threat of military confrontation looms. 'God willing, nothing will happen,' said Azeem Gilani, a baker in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani-administered Kashmir. 'We have seen this before. But if, God forbid, the situation worsens, Kashmiris on both sides will suffer.' Since a terrorist attack two weeks ago on the Indian-administered side of Kashmir left 26 innocent people dead, Kashmiris have tried to prepare for a military escalation, which began early on May 7 with India announcing that it had conducted strikes in Pakistan and on Pakistan's side of Kashmir. Both countries claim Kashmir in its entirety, but each controls only a section. ALSO READ: India strikes Pakistan over Kashmir tourist killings The beautiful Himalayan territory has been the main flashpoint of conflict between the archrival nations for almost 80 years. Soon after the attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India pledged 'severe punishment' for the perpetrators and suggested that Pakistan had been involved. In turn, Pakistan claimed that it had 'credible intelligence' suggesting an imminent Indian military strike, and its leaders promised a strong response to any aggression. Kashmiris on the Pakistani-controlled side of the territory fear they could be in the first line of fire. Past conflicts between India and Pakistan have often begun with confrontation along the border between the two sides of Kashmir, known as the Line of Control. 'It is not new for us,' said Tanzeel Ahmed, who runs a grocery store in a village near Athmuqam, 2 miles (3.2km) from the border. 'We have lived through this before.' Many in Kashmir make their living from the tourism industry or related fields. The tourism season would typically have just begun, around the start of May, as temperatures rise farther south. Official data indicates that over 3 million tourists visited the region in 2024. But for 2025, the prospects are grim. Local authorities have restricted access to sensitive border areas, significantly reducing the flow of visitors. Many vacationers have cancelled their plans. Others have been turned back at security checkpoints. ALSO READ: India and Pakistan: A history of armed conflict Once-bustling sites, like a popular waterfall known for its tea stalls and photo opportunities, are nearly deserted. 'Tourism is our economic backbone,' said Shahid Chaudhary, a guesthouse owner. 'All 42 rooms are vacant, and we've had to let our staff go. The losses are devastating.' In Muzaffarabad, officials have instructed the food department to stockpile emergency food supplies for two months in anticipation of a possible attack by India. While regular schools have, so far, stayed open, local authorities have ordered hundreds of religious seminaries, known as madrassas, to close for at least 10 days. Officials said the madrassas, which provide Islamic education and teach children to memorize the Quran, could be viewed as militant training centres and targeted by Indian airstrikes, as they have been in the past. 'We were instructed by authorities to temporarily close the madrassa due to the prevailing security situation,' said Muhammad Rafiq, a teacher at a madrassa in Muzaffarabad where 150 children study. Home to more than 4 million people, the Pakistani-administered part of Kashmir covers about 86,000 square miles (222,739sq km) and operates under a semiautonomous framework with its own legislature, president, prime minister and Supreme Court. But all election candidates and officials must sign a loyalty pledge to Pakistan, a requirement that underscores the country's influence over the region's political structure. Conflict over the region began in 1947 when Britain divided India, its former colony, into two countries: Pakistan, with a Muslim majority, and India, with a Hindu majority. Both new countries claimed Kashmir, but the region's Hindu ruler acceded to India. War broke out. After a ceasefire in 1949, India was left governing about two-thirds of the territory, and Pakistan the other third. Over the next several decades, Kashmir and its people were deeply scarred by wars between India and Pakistan. As insurgency against India began to rise in the territory in the 1980s, Pakistan stepped in with money and training. The violence moderated for a time in the 2000s. But political developments over the last few years – and the uncertainty set off by last month's terrorist attack – could be fostering a revival of insurgency and political disruption, analysts say. At a central intersection in Muzaffarabad on May 5, a group of activists staged a protest, burning tires to demonstrate their anger at what they called India's baseless allegations over the recent terror attack, and its threats of war. 'Kashmir, burning across the LOC, belongs to Pakistan,' said Mushtaq Dar, a leader of the protest, referring to the Line of Control. After the Indian government cracked down on its side of Kashmir in 2019, revoking the region's semi-autonomous status, a wave of protests broke out in the Pakistani-controlled region, as residents feared a similar tightening of restrictions. That discontent has 'evolved into a popular civil rights movement demanding more rights from the central government in Islamabad, achieving tangible gains like reductions in electricity and wheat prices,' said Ershad Mahmud, an expert on Kashmir who recently wrote a book on the politics of identity and resistance in Poonch, a Kashmiri district divided by the Line of Control. Raja Farooq Haider Khan, a former prime minister whose region includes villages that have frequently been shelled, said that residents would bring that same attitude to the escalating conflict between India and Pakistan. He said that although Kashmiris have always opposed war, they have never shied away from standing up for their rights. 'If war is imposed,' he said, 'they will fight to defend their land with unwavering resolve, until their last breath.' - NYTIMES
Straits Times
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
On Pakistan's side of Kashmir, locals fear they'll be the first to face India's ire
All across the Pakistani-held section of Kashmir, there is an air of emergency as the threat of military confrontation with India looms. PHOTO: SAIYNA BASHIR/NYTIMES On Pakistan's side of Kashmir, locals fear they'll be the first to face India's ire MUZAFFARABAD, Kashmir – Families are reinforcing their bunkers and confirming evacuation plans. Hospitals have stocked up on essential medicines. Schoolchildren are being trained on the essentials of first aid. All across the Pakistani-held section of Kashmir, there is an air of emergency, a persistent trepidation as the threat of military confrontation looms. 'God willing, nothing will happen,' said Mr Azeem Gilani, a baker in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani-administered Kashmir. 'We have seen this before. But if, God forbid, the situation worsens, Kashmiris on both sides will suffer.' Since a terrorist attack two weeks ago on the Indian-administered side of Kashmir left 26 innocent people dead, Kashmiris have tried to prepare for a military escalation, which began early on May 7 with India announcing that it had conducted strikes in Pakistan and on Pakistan's side of Kashmir. Both countries claim Kashmir in its entirety, but each controls only a section. The beautiful Himalayan territory has been the main flashpoint of conflict between the archrival nations for almost 80 years. Soon after the attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India pledged 'severe punishment' for the perpetrators and suggested that Pakistan had been involved. In turn, Pakistan claimed that it had 'credible intelligence' suggesting an imminent Indian military strike, and its leaders promised a strong response to any aggression. Kashmiris on the Pakistani-controlled side of the territory fear they could be in the first line of fire. Past conflicts between India and Pakistan have often begun with confrontation along the border between the two sides of Kashmir, known as the Line of Control. 'It is not new for us,' said Mr Tanzeel Ahmed, who runs a grocery store in a village near Athmuqam, 2 miles (3.2km) from the border. 'We have lived through this before.' Many in Kashmir make their living from the tourism industry or related fields. The tourism season would typically have just begun, around the start of May, as temperatures rise farther south. Official data indicates that over 3 million tourists visited the region in 2024. But for 2025, the prospects are grim. Local authorities have restricted access to sensitive border areas, significantly reducing the flow of visitors. Many vacationers have cancelled their plans. Others have been turned back at security checkpoints. Once-bustling sites, like a popular waterfall known for its tea stalls and photo opportunities, are nearly deserted. 'Tourism is our economic backbone,' said Mr Shahid Chaudhary, a guesthouse owner. 'All 42 rooms are vacant, and we've had to let our staff go. The losses are devastating.' In Muzaffarabad, officials have instructed the food department to stockpile emergency food supplies for two months in anticipation of a possible attack by India. While regular schools have, so far, stayed open, local authorities have ordered hundreds of religious seminaries, known as madrassas, to close for at least 10 days. Officials said the madrassas, which provide Islamic education and teach children to memorize the Quran, could be viewed as militant training centres and targeted by Indian airstrikes, as they have been in the past. 'We were instructed by authorities to temporarily close the madrassa due to the prevailing security situation,' said Mr Muhammad Rafiq, a teacher at a madrassa in Muzaffarabad where 150 children study. Restricted access to border areas by authorities has significantly reduced the flow of vacationers to an area that heavily relies on tourism. PHOTO: SAIYNA BASHIR/NYTIMES Home to more than 4 million people, the Pakistani-administered part of Kashmir covers about 86,000 square miles (222,739sq km) and operates under a semiautonomous framework with its own legislature, president, prime minister and Supreme Court. But all election candidates and officials must sign a loyalty pledge to Pakistan, a requirement that underscores the country's influence over the region's political structure. Conflict over the region began in 1947 when Britain divided India, its former colony, into two countries: Pakistan, with a Muslim majority, and India, with a Hindu majority. Both new countries claimed Kashmir, but the region's Hindu ruler acceded to India. War broke out. After a ceasefire in 1949, India was left governing about two-thirds of the territory, and Pakistan the other third. Over the next several decades, Kashmir and its people were deeply scarred by wars between India and Pakistan. As insurgency against India began to rise in the territory in the 1980s, Pakistan stepped in with money and training. The violence moderated for a time in the 2000s. But political developments over the last few years – and the uncertainty set off by last month's terrorist attack – could be fostering a revival of insurgency and political disruption, analysts say. A clock tower depicting prominent Kashmiri separatists in Muzaffarabad, the capital of the Pakistani-administered side of Kashmir. PHOTO: SAIYNA BASHIR/NYTIMES At a central intersection in Muzaffarabad on May 5, a group of activists staged a protest, burning tires to demonstrate their anger at what they called India's baseless allegations over the recent terror attack, and its threats of war. 'Kashmir, burning across the LOC, belongs to Pakistan,' said Mr Mushtaq Dar, a leader of the protest, referring to the Line of Control. After the Indian government cracked down on its side of Kashmir in 2019, revoking the region's semi-autonomous status, a wave of protests broke out in the Pakistani-controlled region, as residents feared a similar tightening of restrictions. That discontent has 'evolved into a popular civil rights movement demanding more rights from the central government in Islamabad, achieving tangible gains like reductions in electricity and wheat prices,' said Mr Ershad Mahmud, an expert on Kashmir who recently wrote a book on the politics of identity and resistance in Poonch, a Kashmiri district divided by the Line of Control. Mr Raja Farooq Haider Khan, a former prime minister whose region includes villages that have frequently been shelled, said that residents would bring that same attitude to the escalating conflict between India and Pakistan. He said that although Kashmiris have always opposed war, they have never shied away from standing up for their rights. 'If war is imposed,' he said, 'they will fight to defend their land with unwavering resolve, until their last breath.' NYTIMES Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
India Gazette
06-05-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
India strikes terrorist targets in Pakistan
07 May 2025, 01:57 GMT+10 The strikes are aimed at terrorist camps and not at the Pakistani armed forces, New Delhi has said India announced early on Wednesday it had launched "Operation Sindoor" against "terrorists" in Pakistan and the Pakistani-held part of disputed Kashmir. New Delhi said it had already hit nine targets, insisting that they consisted of "terrorist infrastructure" only. "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," the Indian government said in a statement. (
