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Time of India
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Shehbaz Sharif rejects nuclear threats as India tensions rise; counters officials warning of 'full Spectrum' response
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif denies nuclear threats against India. He states Pakistan's arsenal is for defense only. This follows a recent standoff after a terror attack in Pahalgam. Earlier, Pakistani officials hinted at nuclear retaliation if India disrupted water resources. India retaliated with Operation Sindoor, targeting terror sites. China's role as Pakistan's main arms supplier is under scrutiny. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Earlier threats of 'full spectrum of power' Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads India's Retaliation: Operation Sindoor China's role in Pakistan's defence capabilities Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has dismissed any suggestion that his country considered using nuclear weapons during its latest confrontation with India, insisting the nuclear arsenal is intended solely for 'peaceful purposes and national defence.' Speaking to a gathering of Pakistani students on Saturday, Sharif sought to downplay fears of escalation, even as the memory of military exchanges remains the four-day standoff that followed the deadly April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, which killed 26 civilians, Sharif acknowledged that 55 Pakistanis had died during India's retaliatory Operation Sindoor. He nonetheless stressed Pakistan's military had responded forcefully but within conventional bounds.'Pakistan's nuclear programme exists to defend the nation and to deter aggression, not to pursue it,' he told remarks stood in stark contrast to statements made just weeks earlier by senior Pakistani officials, who had openly warned of nuclear retaliation if India struck. In May, Pakistan's ambassador to Russia, Muhammad Khalid Jamali, told Russian broadcaster RT that Islamabad would not hesitate to unleash 'the full spectrum of power, including nuclear,' if India attempted to attack or disrupt Pakistan's water resources.'Any move to seize or divert our water would be considered an act of war,' Jamali warned, signalling that nuclear options were actively under comments, widely reported internationally, heightened concerns that the South Asian rivals were inching closer to a nuclear military campaign, Operation Sindoor, was launched in early May in direct response to the Pahalgam attack, which Indian intelligence blamed on Pakistan-based terror outfits including Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen. Over the course of several days, Indian forces conducted what officials described as 'pre-emptive precision strikes,' hitting nine sites linked to terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied to Indian security agencies, the strikes eliminated more than 100 Minister Narendra Modi underlined that India would not be cowed by threats of nuclear escalation. 'India will not tolerate nuclear blackmail while countering terrorism,' he declared on May Anil Chauhan, India's Chief of Defence Staff, echoed this position. Speaking at a think tank event in New Delhi, he said: 'Nuclear deterrence is no justification for cross-border terrorism. Operation Sindoor shows that India is willing to act decisively against it.'Meanwhile, Pakistan's growing reliance on China as its primary defence partner continues to draw scrutiny. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Islamabad has purchased $8.2 billion worth of Chinese arms since 2015. Between 2020 and 2024 alone, Pakistan accounted for 63% of Beijing's total arms exports, the largest share going to any attempt to present a more restrained nuclear posture highlights the delicate balance Islamabad must maintain—signalling strength domestically while avoiding further escalation with India.
NDTV
10 hours ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Pakistan's Nuclear Backtrack Weeks After "Full Spectrum" Threat To India
New Delhi: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that the country's nuclear programme is intended strictly for "peaceful purposes and self-defence", drawing a contrast to earlier statements by senior Pakistani officials who had openly threatened nuclear retaliation in the event of conflict with India. Mr Sharif's remarks, delivered on Saturday while addressing a group of Pakistani students, come less than two months after a senior Pakistani diplomat explicitly warned of using "the full spectrum of power, both conventional and nuclear" in the context of rising tensions with New Delhi. The Pakistani Prime Minister's attempt to tone down nuclear escalation marks a shift following heightened tensions due to Operation Sindoor, a military response by India to the April 22 terror attack Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, which killed 26 people. "Pakistan's nuclear programme is solely for peaceful purposes and national defence, not for aggression," Mr Sharif said. The prime minister's statement, though made in a civilian context, directly contradicts remarks made in May by Muhammad Khalid Jamali, Pakistan's ambassador to Russia. Speaking to Russian state broadcaster RT, Mr Jamali warned of imminent Indian military strikes and vowed Pakistan would respond with the "full spectrum of power". He alleged that Islamabad had intelligence pointing to India's plans to target specific areas within Pakistan, adding that any such attack or disruption of Pakistan's water supply would invite nuclear retaliation. "Any attempt to usurp the water of the lower riparian, or to stop it, or to divert it would be an act of war," Mr Jamali said. "It would be responded to with full force of power, including full spectrum of power." The remarks were widely interpreted as an official Pakistani signal that nuclear options were being kept on the table in the event of escalation. India, for its part, has stated unequivocally that it will not be deterred by nuclear threats. Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7 and continuing through mid-May, targeted nine terror-related infrastructure points in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), in what Indian officials described as "pre-emptive precision strikes." Indian intelligence agencies attributed the April 22 attack in Pahalgam to Pakistan-based groups, including Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and Hizbul Mujahideen. According to Indian security officials, over 100 terrorists were killed during the strikes. "India will not tolerate any nuclear blackmail while acting against terrorism and its sponsor. Our response is calibrated, precise, and resolute," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on May 13. India's Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan also weighed in publicly, noting that the era of nuclear deterrence was not an excuse for state-sponsored terrorism. "India has made it clear that it will not be deterred by nuclear blackmail," Mr Chauhan said at an Observer Research Foundation (ORF) event recently. "Operation Sindoor stands as an example of conflict engagement between two nuclear powers where conventional force was utilised decisively." According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), China remains Pakistan's principal defence partner, having sold arms worth $8.2 billion to Islamabad since 2015. Between 2020 and 2024, Pakistan received 63 per cent of China's arms exports - the highest share for any single country.
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Business Standard
21 hours ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Aid shipments have been restored: Zelenskyy confirms resumed US aid
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy has confirmed that US military aid shipments to Ukraine have resumed, following a temporary suspension earlier this month, RT reported. "We have received political signals at the highest level, good signals, including from the United States and from our European friends. According to all reports, aid shipments have been restored," Zelenskyy said in his daily video address on Friday, as quoted by RT. RT reported that the weapons shipments had been paused for nearly two weeks after the Pentagon halted deliveries, reportedly due to concerns over depleting stockpiles. The pause drew significant attention after reports surfaced that US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had ordered the suspension without consulting President Donald Trump or the State Department. According to RT, Trump has since pledged to restart the supply of arms and authorised the resumption of aid. Zelenskyy added that Ukraine would continue its military cooperation with Washington. "We will continue our military cooperation with the United States, and we are expecting new deliveries from our European partners," RT quoted him as saying. Citing Politico, RT reported that Trump plans to use the Presidential Drawdown Authority to approve a new $300 million aid package, which may include Patriot air defense systems. Trump also told NBC that he had finalised a deal to sell weapons to NATO, which would subsequently be transferred to Ukraine. RT noted that Zelenskyy's announcement comes at a critical time for Ukraine, as its forces struggle to hold positions on multiple sections of the front line, facing mounting casualties and territorial setbacks. Meanwhile, the Kremlin has reiterated that continued arms deliveries will not alter the course of the conflict. RT reported that Russia views NATO's military support as direct involvement in the war and insists that a halt to such assistance remains a key condition for any potential ceasefire. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Print
a day ago
- Politics
- The Print
PDP's Iltija Mufti offers floral tributes at ‘martyrs graveyard'
On the day, mainstream political leaders also used to visit the 'martyrs' graveyard' to pay homage to the 22 Kashmiris who fell to the bullets of the Dogra army while protesting the rule of the Maharaja. July 13 was observed as 'Martyrs' Day' in Jammu and Kashmir before the reorganisation of the erstwhile state into two Union territories in August 2019. However, the administration dropped the day from the list of gazetted holidays in 2020 after the reorganisation of J-K. Srinagar, Jul 12 (PTI) Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) leader Iltija Mufti on Saturday paid floral tributes to the people who fell to the bullets of the Dogra army on July 13, 1931. Last year, several leaders, including Mehbooba Mufti, were put under house arrest to prevent them from visiting the graveyard. 'Knowing that tomorrow we'd be prevented from moving out, managed to pay tributes to our martyrs who laid down their lives on 13th July 1931 for democracy,' Iltija Mufti said in a post on X. She also posted a video showing her offering flowers on some of the graves of the July 13, 1931, 'martyrs'. 'Their memory is being wilfully erased yet their voices echo in every Kashmiri's heart that refuses to bow & dares to hope,' she SSB RT RT This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Egypt Independent
a day ago
- Politics
- Egypt Independent
media host questions cause of recent fires across Egypt
The massive fire at the Ramses Exchange building in downtown Cairo has highlighted several other simultaneous fires in Egypt, prompting some to warn against a 'conspiracy' targeting the country, RT reported. Media personality and parliamentarian Mostafa Bakry commented on these incidents, wondering, 'Is all this coincidence? Why now? This is just a question, and we await the answer, as it will reveal what is happening and its purpose.' During his show 'Haqa'ek wa Asrar' (Facts and Secrets) on the privately-owned Sada al-Balad channel on Friday, Bakry warned that a war has begun against Egypt and against President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi,' referring to attempts to 'increase internal tension and undermine national unity.' Massive fires cripple communications A massive fire broke out on Monday evening which lasted nearly 20 hours at the Ramses telephone exchange building in Cairo, one of the largest communications centers in Egypt. The fire led to a partial interruption of internet, landline, and telephone services, and disrupted financial services such as ATMs and electronic payment. Flight services and banking transactions were also impacted. The fire once again erupted on Friday evening in the back building of the exchange, but Civil Defense was able to quickly control the blaze, which was sparked by 'heat spots' remaining from the initial fire. Several other fires, some large, broke out on Friday in several areas in Giza, Alexandria, and Cairo. A massive blaze engulfed a detergent factory in Badr City. In Alexandria, a fire broke out at a famous hotel on the Corniche Road. A major fire broke out at the Dubai Mall in Sheikh Zayed City, Giza Governorate, reducing the building to ashes. A venomous plot? Bakry also noted that security and agricultural authorities foiled a 'sabotage plot' last week, which involved an attempted smuggling of rare, dangerous and highly venomous animals through the Cairo Airport. 'Forty scorpions from the forests of Vietnam, known for their high toxicity and rapid reproduction, were seized, as were five yellow scorpions from Brazil, one of the most dangerous venomous species, and giant snakes, including the spitting cobra, which poses a threat to wildlife and pets,' he said. He continued, questioning, 'Why did the foreigner bring them with him, and what was the purpose of placing them in a specific location?!'
