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Toronto Sun
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
Indian and Pakistan troops swap intense artillery fire
Published May 09, 2025 • 3 minute read Kashmiri Muslims arrive to attend Friday prayers at a damaged mosque following Indian strikes in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, on May 9, 2025. Photo by SAJJAD QAYYUM / AFP via Getty Images SRINAGAR, India — Indian and Pakistani soldiers exchanged heavy volleys of shells and gunfire across their frontier in Kashmir overnight, killing at least five civilians in a growing military standoff that erupted following an attack on tourists in the India-controlled portion of the disputed region. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account In Pakistan, an unusually intense night of artillery exchanges left at least four civilians dead and wounded 12 others in areas near the Line of Control that divides Kashmir, local police official Adeel Ahmad said. People in border towns said the firing continued well into Friday morning. 'We're used to hearing exchange of fire between Pakistan and India at the Line of Control, but last night was different,' said Mohammad Shakil, who lives near the frontier in Chakothi sector. In India, military officials said Pakistani troops barraged their posts overnight with artillery, mortars and gunfire at multiple locations in Indian-controlled Kashmir. They said Indian soldiers responded, triggering fierce exchanges until early dawn. A woman was killed and two other civilians were injured in Uri sector, police said, taking the civilian death toll in Indian-controlled Kashmir to 17 since Wednesday. Pakistan said Indian mortar and artillery fire has killed 17 civilians in Pakistan-administered Kashmir in the same period. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Indian authorities have evacuated tens of thousands of civilians from villages near the volatile frontier. Thousands of people slept in shelters for a second consecutive night. Rivals exchange strikes and allegations Tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals have soared since an attack on a popular tourist site in India-controlled Kashmir left 26 civilians dead, mostly Hindu Indian tourists, on April 22. New Delhi has blamed Pakistan for backing the attack, an accusation Islamabad rejects. On Wednesday, India conducted airstrikes on several sites in Pakistani territory it described as militant-related, killing 31 civilians according to Pakistani officials. Pakistan said it shot down five Indian fighter jets. RECOMMENDED VIDEO On Thursday, India said it thwarted Pakistani drone and missile attacks at military targets in more than a dozen cities and towns, including Jammu city in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The army said no casualties were reported. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Pakistan denied that it carried out drone attacks in Indian-controlled Kashmir. India said meanwhile it hit Pakistan's air defense systems and radars close to the city of Lahore. The incidents could not be independently confirmed. India orders X to block thousands of accounts Meanwhile, social platform X in a statement on Thursday said the Indian government had ordered it to block users in the country from accessing more than 8,000 accounts, including a number of 'international news organizations and other prominent users.' The social platform did not release the list of accounts it was blocking in India, but said the order 'amounts to censorship of existing and future content, and is contrary to the fundamental right of free speech.' Later, X briefly blocked access to the Global Affairs Account from which it had posted the statement, also citing a legal demand from India. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Crisis disrupts schools, sports and travel India's biggest domestic cricket tournament, the Indian Premier League, which attracts top players from around the world, was suspended for one week. Pakistan also moved its own domestic tournament to the United Arab Emirates because of the tensions. Panic also spread during an evening cricket match in northern Dharamsala city, where a crowd of more than 10,000 people had to be evacuated from the stadium and the game called off, according to an Associated Press photographer covering the event. Meanwhile, several northern and western Indian states, including Punjab, Rajasthan, Indian-controlled Kashmir, shut schools and other educational institutions for two days. Airlines in India have also suspended flight operations from two dozen airports across northern and western regions. India's Civil Aviation Ministry late Thursday confirmed in a statement the temporary closure of 24 airports. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The impact of border flare up was also seen in the Indian stock markets. In early trade on Friday, the benchmark Sensex tanked 662 points to 79,649 while Nifty 50 declined 215 points to trade at 24,058. Vance says a war would be 'none of our business' As fears of military confrontation soar and worried world leaders call for de-escalation, the U.S. Vice President JD Vance has said that a potential war between India and Pakistan would be 'none of our business.' 'What we can do is try to encourage these folks to de-escalate a little bit, but we're not going to get involved in the middle of war that's fundamentally none of our business and has nothing to do with America's ability to control it,' Vance said in an interview with Fox News.
Miami Herald
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Pakistan Authorizes Military ‘to Avenge' India Strikes
World Pakistan Authorizes Military 'to Avenge' India Strikes Pakistan soldiers after India strikes. Soldiers patrol near the site of a damaged mosque after Indian strikes in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, on May 7, 2025. India and Pakistan exchanged heavy artillery fire along their contested frontier on May 7 after New Delhi launched deadly missile strikes on its arch-rival, in the worst violence between the nuclear-armed neighbours in two decades. SAJJAD QAYYUM/AFP via Getty Images Pakistan's National Security Council said it had authorized the country's armed forces "to avenge" the strikes by India. India launched airstrikes on Wednesday in "Operation Sindoor" targeting alleged terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. But Pakistan said the strikes had killed and injured civilians, including a woman and a child at a mosque that was hit. "In consonance with Article-51 of the UN Charter, Pakistan reserves the right to respond, in self-defence, at a time, place, and manner of its choosing to avenge the loss of innocent Pakistani lives and blatant violation of its sovereignty," Pakistan's NSC said in a statement after its meeting on May 7. "The Armed Forces of Pakistan have duly been authorized to undertake corresponding actions in this regard." "Our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistan military facilities have been targeted. India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of targets and method of execution. "We are living up to the commitment that those responsible for this attack will be held accountable." Pakistan responded immediately to the strikes with shelling into Indian-administered Kashmir, which India said killed several civilians. Tensions erupted between India and Pakistan, nuclear-armed neighbors, over a massacre of 26 people, mostly Hindu tourists, at a beauty spot in Pahalgam in Indian-controlled Kashmir. India has accused the Pakistani government of having a hand in what it has described as a terror attack linked to the Pakistan-based Islamist group Lashkar-e-Taiba. But Pakistan denies any involvement in the attack. Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif had said Pakistan is "willing to wrap up these things" if India halts its actions, but cautioned: "If India attacks, we'll respond." India's Defense Ministry sought to contain the response to its strikes. "Our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistan military facilities have been targeted. India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of targets and method of execution," the ministry said in a statement. "We are living up to the commitment that those responsible for this attack will be held accountable." This is a breaking news story and more information will be added soon. Related Articles 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC. This story was originally published May 7, 2025 at 5:42 AM.
RNZ News
07-05-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
South Asian communities fear for relatives caught up in Kashmir conflict
Residents evacuate their homes near the site of a missile strike in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, on Wednesday. Photo: AFP/SAJJAD QAYYUM New Zealand's South Asian communities have expressed concern for the safety of relatives caught up in rapidly rising hostilities between the two neighbouring nuclear powers in the wake of an Indian offensive on Wednesday. Residents of Indian and Pakistani descent called on India and Pakistan to halt the worst fighting in more than two decades between the two nations. India launched missile strikes on nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir early Wednesday morning in a campaign titled "Operation Sindoor". Pakistan says at least 26 civilians have been killed and 46 wounded in the sites that were attacked, while India says at least seven have been killed and 48 injured in shelling on its side of the border, according to the BBC. India's offensive followed an attack by Islamist assailants that killed 26 Hindu tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir last month. India said Pakistan-based militants were responsible, but Pakistan has denied involvement. Narendra Bhana, former president of the New Zealand Indian Central Association, called upon all communities within New Zealand - regardless of their origin - to remain united, respectful and empathetic. "Let us be guided not by division, but by our shared humanity and our common aspiration for a more just and peaceful world," Bhana said. "While we acknowledge the complex historical and geopolitical factors surrounding South Asia, we believe that violence cannot be the path forward," he said. "We urge all parties involved to pursue diplomatic solutions, engage in constructive dialogue and prioritize the long-term well-being of all citizens in the region." Veer Khar, Bhana's successor and current president of the association, hoped the conflict would not lead to any tensions between New Zealand's Indian and Pakistani communities. "If some tensions emerge, we will ensure to diffuse it by having good interactions between the two communities," Khar said. Naveed Hamid, former president of the Pakistan Association of New Zealand, echoed similar sentiments. "The Pakistani community here is very concerned for their families back home," Hamid said. "We are praying both countries de-escalate the current situation," he said. "[Given] both are nuclear weapon states, the international community should also step in and prevent the conflict from escalating." Ishtaq Ahmed, who moved to New Zealand from Pakistan 20 years ago and is president of Pakistan Association of Canterbury, expressed shock at Wednesday's developments. "This doesn't look good for the region, and I don't see any benefit coming out of this," Ahmed said. "I believe both countries should sort their issues on a table rather than like this." Jaspreet Kandhari, who comes from the Indian state of Punjab and is general secretary of the New Zealand Indian Business Association, said the Indian community in New Zealand was expecting some military action by the Indian armed forces after last month's attack in India-administered Kashmir. "[But] we are hoping the conflict doesn't turn into a full-fledged war, as all our relatives live in the border areas," Kandhari said. "We are obviously very worried about their safety." Tayyaba Khan, whose family moved from Pakistan to New Zealand when she was an infant, said Wednesday's developments were "devastating". "We have got two countries who have a very shared history of colonialism, and yet they continue to be at war with each other," she said. "Times like these require good leadership. It requires leaders who think about people," she said. "Unfortunately, in situations like this, it's always the innocent civilians who get caught up in the warfare of people with power."
