Latest news with #militarystandoff
Arab News
3 days ago
- Business
- Arab News
Pakistani PM meets Azerbaijan's Aliyev, thanks him for support during India standoff
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday met the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, and thanked his country for its 'steadfast support' during a recent military standoff with India, the worst conflict in decades between the nuclear-armed neighbors in decades. Sharif is in Azerbaijan on the third stopover of a five-day regional diplomacy tour that also saw him visit Iran and Turkiye. Turkiye and Azerbaijan had openly pledged support for Pakistan during the standoff with India while Iran had urged restraint multiple times and also offered to mediate. The four-day military escalation saw Pakistan and India launch missiles and drones deep into each other's territories and exchange gunfire on their de facto border, the Line of Control, until a ceasefire was announced on May 10. Nearly 70 people combined were killed on both sides of the border. 'The prime minister thanked Azerbaijan for its steadfast support during the recent Pakistan-India confrontation, in the face of Indian provocation and acknowledged the public expressions of solidarity from both the leadership and the people of brotherly Azerbaijan,' Sharif's office said in a statement. 'He said that people of Azerbaijan celebrated the success of Pakistan.' During the meeting, which took place on the eve of a trilateral summit between Pakistan, Azerbaijan and Türkiye, Sharif and Aliyev reviewed bilateral relations and expressed satisfaction on the trajectory of political, economic, defense, and cultural cooperation. 'They reaffirmed their shared commitment to diversifying the strategic partnership through investment in mutually beneficial avenues,' the prime minister's office said. 'Azerbaijan side agreed to exchange of delegations with regard to progress in investment of Azerbaijan in Pakistan. In this regard delegation level talks will be organized very soon.' Pakistan and Azerbaijan have strengthened ties in recent years through defense and energy cooperation and Baku has supported Islamabad's position on the Kashmir dispute at international forums. Islamabad has also offered Azerbaijan access to its seaports to facilitate trade with global markets and promoted regional connectivity initiatives linking Central Asia to South Asia. At the start of his regional visit, Sharif met Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Türkiye and thanked him for Ankara's strong backing during the conflict with India. The two leaders also discussed expanding cooperation in defense production, energy, IT, agriculture and infrastructure and agreed to pursue a bilateral trade target of $5 billion, building on commitments made during the 7th High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council held in Islamabad earlier this year. Sharif also visited Tehran, where he held meetings with President Masoud Pezeshkian and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. At a joint press stakeout with the Iranian president, Sharif made a peace offer to India, saying Pakistan was ready for talks on contentious issues including Kashmir, water-sharing and countering terrorism.
Arab News
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan to send dossier to world powers urging action against Indian ‘aggression'
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will be sending a dossier, which outlines the chain of events in its military standoff with India this month, to world powers to urge them to hold New Delhi accountable for its 'aggression and attacks on civilian population' in Pakistan. The dossier will be presented to foreign capitals by a high-level delegation formed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif last week. The delegation, led by former Pakistani foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, is tasked with effectively presenting Pakistan's case before the world. The document, seen by Arab News, contains details of an April 22 attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, India's subsequent strikes against Pakistan and Islamabad's response to them, the ensuing four-day military standoff, international media coverage, images of the attacked sites, and specifics of Pakistan's countermeasures. 'Pakistan reaffirms its commitment to regional peace and stability and international community must hold India accountable for its aggression and attack on innocent women and children,' the dossier reads. India blamed the April 22 attack that killed 26 people on Pakistan and on May 7, New Delhi attacked what it called 'terrorist camps' in multiple Pakistani cities. Islamabad has denied complicity and called for an international probe into the assault. The four-day military conflict came to a halt after United States (US) President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire on May 10, offering to help settle longstanding dispute between the two nations. The Pakistani dossier says that India had repeatedly used 'false-flag operations' and its immediate blaming of Pakistan for the attack raised 'serious concerns about the integrity of its claims' as standard investigative procedures required time and forensic examination. 'The Pahalgam incident followed the same pattern of manipulation and manufactured provocation,' the dossier says, noting that Pakistan sought evidence from India and proposed a joint investigation. 'However, these proposals were not only rejected by India but India also continued to attack civilians inside Pakistan.' Members of Pakistan's high-level delegation, tasked with visiting London, Washington, Paris and Brussels, described this outreach to the international community as 'absolutely imperative.' 'The region stands at a key inflection point in the wake of India's unprovoked aggression and its egregious reshaping and deliberate distortion of facts as active state-sponsored disinformation,' Senator Sherry Rehman, a member of the Pakistani delegation, told Arab News. 'We have obviously prepared a detailed dossier that documents not just recent violations but also India's longstanding record of state-sponsored terrorism inside Pakistan,' she said, adding that Pakistan has chosen diplomacy over escalation. 'This dossier is not a political tool, it is a factual record of aggression and hybrid warfare, including India's unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, which constitutes a grave violation of international law and a weaponization of water against civilian populations.' Rehman said the aim of the delegation will be to reinforce Pakistan's position as a responsible state, seeking peaceful resolution 'through diplomacy and facts, not aggression or media manipulation.' 'It is also to seek global support for de-escalation frameworks, including calls for renewed dialogue on Kashmir as a flashpoint, and to safeguard regional water security through multilateral oversight,' she added. India suspended on April 23 the World Bank-mediated Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 that ensures water for 80 percent of Pakistani farms, saying it would last until 'Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism.' Separatist groups have waged an insurgency in Indian-controlled Kashmir since 1989, demanding independence or a merger with Pakistan. New Delhi accuses Pakistan of backing the militants, Islamabad denies it and says it only supports Kashmiris diplomatically and politically. Jalil Abbas Jillani, another Pakistani delegate and a former foreign secretary, said it is extremely important for Pakistan to share its concerns over the aggressive Indian behavior, genesis of the Kashmir dispute, and violations of the Indus Waters Treaty and its implications on peace and stability in the region. 'The delegation will also apprise the international community of the support being extended by India to terrorist outfits like BLA [Baloch Liberation Army] and TTP [Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan], etc,' he told Arab News. New Delhi denies supporting the BLA, TTP or any such groups in Pakistan. India has also sent multiple all-party delegations abroad to extend its diplomatic outreach over the recent conflict. Former Pakistani diplomats and experts called the submission of the dossier a 'right approach' by Pakistan to brief the world about Indian actions. 'Pakistan's recent step of submitting yet another dossier is again a step in the right direction as India has been selling its narrative on false grounds,' former Pakistani ambassador to the United Kingdom Nafees Zakaria told Arab News. He said there was no reason for the international community not to pay due attention to Pakistan's 'evidence-based dossier' against India. 'Western world led by the US, which sees India as its lynchpin in the region as a counterweight to the rising powers China and Russia, has been looking the other way, which allowed India to indulge in criminal activities and subversion with impunity,' he said, adding that Pakistan must present its narrative and rigorously pursue it to ensure that India is 'called to account and pays for its crimes.' Former foreign secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhary said Pakistan needed to convey its perspective as India had hardly presented any evidence to the world to support its accusations, which resulted in the military standoff. 'It should be a proactive agenda on our part, meaning we should compile dossiers on India's involvement in terrorism in Pakistan, evidence for which is now plentiful,' he told Arab News. He said India had better accepted the offer made by President Donald Trump to sit and talk with Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir dispute. 'The sooner India does that the better it would be for it and for the peace in the region,' he added. Bitter rivals India and Pakistan have fought three wars, including two over the disputed region of Kashmir, since gaining independence from British rule in 1947. Both claim the Himalayan territory in its entirety but rule it in part.
Arab News
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan PM reaffirms desire for peace in South Asia in talks with UK foreign secretary
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has reaffirmed his desire for peace in South Asia despite a recent military standoff with India, Sharif's office said on Saturday, following his meeting with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy. The meeting between Lammy and PM Sharif took place in Islamabad during the UK foreign secretary's first official visit to Pakistan, just days after one of the most serious military confrontations between the South Asian nuclear-armed rivals in decades. Fighting erupted last week when India launched strikes on what it said were 'terrorist camps' in Pakistan following a deadly April attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 people. New Delhi accused Islamabad of backing the militants behind the assault, an allegation Pakistan denies. Four days of drone, missile and artillery exchanges followed, killing around 70 people, including dozens of civilians, on both sides of the border. The conflict raised fears of a broader war before a ceasefire was announced by US President Donald Trump. 'While reaffirming Pakistan's firm commitment to upholding the ceasefire understanding, the Prime Minister stressed that Pakistan had exercised great patience and restraint in the face of India's baseless accusations and unprovoked aggression,' Sharif office said, after his talks with Lammy. 'He reiterated that in exercise of the right to self-defense, Pakistan's response was measured, proportionate and targeted. He reaffirmed Pakistan's strong desire for peace in South Asia, while defending its sovereignty and territorial integrity at all costs.' Last week's hostilities between Pakistan and India had raised alarm among world powers about a full-blown war in South Asia. Britain was among several countries that called for restraint, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer saying at the time that the UK was 'urgently engaging' with both sides. 'The UK Foreign Secretary congratulated the Prime Minister on the ceasefire understanding and said the UK would continue to play a constructive role for promotion of peace and stability in the region,' Sharif's office said. During the meeting, Sharif expressed his satisfaction at the positive trajectory of Pakistan-UK ties and reiterated his desire to enhance bilateral cooperation across all spheres, according to his office. He conveyed his warm greetings to His Majesty King Charles III as well as to PM Starmer. On Friday, Lammy also met Pakistani deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, and held detailed discussions on recent developments in South Asia, particularly the situation after the ceasefire understanding between Pakistan and India, Pakistan's foreign ministry said. 'Dar briefed the UK Foreign Secretary on India's unprovoked and belligerent actions, which constituted a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty, international law, the UN Charter, and established norms of interstate relations,' it said. 'He underlined that Pakistan exercised its right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter, and that Pakistan's response remained limited, precise, and proportionate, with utmost care taken to avoid civilian casualties.' Dar thanked the UK for its constructive engagement in de-escalation during the conflict. Lammy's visit, the foreign ministry said, underscored the 'robust and multifaceted partnership' between the two nations and their commitment to regional and international peace.
Russia Today
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Western reporting on India-Pakistan escalation ‘one-sided' – ex-Indian foreign secretary
The Western media has been presenting a 'distorted' and 'one-sided' picture of the latest military standoff between India and Pakistan, former Indian Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal has told RT. On Saturday, the two nuclear powers agreed to a truce following the recent escalation in the wake of a deadly terrorist attack in India's Jammu and Kashmir federal territory in late April. US President Donald Trump stated that Washington had helped mediate the cessation of hostilities. Commenting on the developments, Sibal said that New Delhi never had any intention of escalating its limited military operation. He also criticized the US for seeking to 'take diplomatic credit' for the truce. The retired diplomat further lamented the manner in which the escalation was reported by the Western press, which he says gave scant significance to 'what caused this in the first place.' 'The attention is being shifted to the larger issues' existing between New Delhi and Islamabad, as opposed to the deadly terrorist attack last month, he argued. Sibal suggested that the 'Western press… totally contort and distort their reporting,' presenting a 'very one-sided picture.' 'And somehow they have a very great weakness for Pakistan despite the fact that Pakistan's links with terror are so well known,' Sibal claimed. He noted that Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had been hiding in the country for years before being killed by US special forces in 2011. In late April, anonymous sources told RT that the Indian government had sent an objection to BBC India head Jackie Martin over the British broadcaster's use of the word 'militants' to refer to the perpetrators of the terrorist attack that led to the escalation of the conflict. Similar concerns were reportedly raised with other international news outlets, including the Associated Press and Reuters. Speaking to RT around the same time, Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif claimed that the West is to blame for his country's terrorism problem, which he explained stems from the 'introduction of jihad' on behalf of the West during the Soviet-Afghanistan war in the 1980s. New Delhi has accused its neighbor of aiding and abetting Islamist militants from the Resistance Front, which claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack last month, alleging that at least two of the perpetrators are Pakistani nationals. Islamabad, for its part, has strongly denied any involvement.
Times
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Times
‘People are dying, we are not safe': Britons in Kashmir beg to leave
British families stranded in Kashmir have begged to be evacuated from a 'holiday turned nightmare' as Pakistan and India exchange heavy gunfire. Khola Riaz, who lives in Luton, travelled last month to Kotli, a mountainous town in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, with her four-year-old son, Esa, to visit her unwell father. But within a week, her parents' hometown had become the centre of a military standoff between the two nuclear-armed states. Several British families in Kotli, which straddles the Line of Control, the de facto border dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan, have said they were forced into a lockdown as at least five civilians were killed in an intense night of artillery exchanges. • India-Pakistan live: nations strike airbases and move closer to war 'The bombing
