Latest news with #militarystandoff
Arab News
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan rejects Indian NSA's claim of ‘zero damage' in military standoff
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday dismissed Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Kumar Doval's remarks claiming 'zero damage' to military targets inside his country during the four-day military standoff between the two South Asian nuclear states, calling it a 'distortion and misrepresentation' that violated established norms of statecraft. The remarks follow Doval's comments at a university convocation in India, where he highlighted the precision and success of the Indian military operation against Pakistan, saying New Delhi did not suffer any collateral damage during Pakistan's retaliation. In May 2025, the most intense India–Pakistan military confrontation in decades erupted, with both states exchanging missile, drone and artillery strikes following an April 22 attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 people. India blamed Pakistan without providing evidence as the administration in Islamabad denied the charge and called for an impartial international probe. 'The remarks of the Indian NSA are replete with distortions and misrepresentations,' foreign office spokesperson, Ambassador Shafqat Ali Khan, said during his weekly news briefing. 'They not only reflect a deliberate attempt to mislead the public, but also violate the norms of responsible statecraft.' 'Boasting of military aggression against a sovereign nation is a grave breach of the United Nations Charter and established principles of international law,' he continued. Khan urged India to acknowledge the downing of six fighter jets including three Rafales, as well as the damage inflicted on Indian military targets instead of peddling 'fictitious narratives.' He said that glorification of a conflict did not benefit anyone, highlighting that the path to a lasting peace was in 'dialogue, mutual respect and adherence to international law.' Doval said New Delhi's initial operation against Pakistan had lasted for '23 minutes.' 'We hit nine terrorist targets deep inside Pakistan — not near the border, but across its crisscrossed terrain with pinpoint accuracy,' he told the students. 'We missed none and we hit nothing else.' He also criticized the international media for highlighting Pakistan's strikes inside his country, saying there was no evidence that 'even a glass pane was broken.' After four days of intense conflict between India and Pakistan, a US-mediated ceasefire was agreed on May 10, halting the confrontation amid global alarm over the risk of escalation.
CNA
27-06-2025
- Politics
- CNA
India's defence minister calls for 'permanent solution' to border dispute with China
India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has called for a "permanent solution" to the country's long-standing border dispute with China. Mr Singh held talks with his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Qingdao. He stressed the need to rebuild trust following a deadly 2020 border clash, which led to a prolonged military standoff in the Himalayas. Beijing has said that the dispute should not affect broader ties with New Delhi. Neha Poonia reports from New Delhi.
Arab News
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Islamabad rejects Indian media claims about Pakistan requesting truce in last month's conflict
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's foreign office on Saturday rejected Indian media reports about Pakistan requesting a ceasefire with New Delhi during their four-day military standoff last month. Citing Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Indian media outlets this week reported that it was Islamabad that requested a ceasefire after India had hit key Pakistani air bases last month. Pakistan and India last month traded fighter jet, missile, drone and artillery strikes after weeks of tensions between them over an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir. Responding to Indian media reports, the Pakistani foreign office said friendly states, including Saudi Arabia and the United States, played a crucial role in facilitating last month's ceasefire. ''The sequence of events clearly demonstrates that Pakistan did not initiate or ask anyone for a ceasefire but agreed to it when around 0815 am on 10th May 2025, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the DPM/FM, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, and informed that India is ready to ceasefire if Pakistan is willing,' it said. 'The DPM/FM confirmed Pakistan's acceptance and later around 9 am Saudi FM Prince Faisal also called DPM/FM and informed the same about India and sought same confirmation which Secretary of State Marco Rubio had sought earlier.' Pakistan and India have fought multiple wars since their independence from British rule in 1947. Two of the wars were over the disputed region of Kashmir, which both claim in full but rule in part. Last month's conflict came days after New Delhi blamed Pakistan for the deadly attack that killed 26 tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22. Islamabad denied any involvement.
Arab News
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan delegation in Brussels says Islamabad can develop counterterror partnership with Delhi
ISLAMABAD: The head of a delegation visiting Brussels to present Pakistan's point of view regarding the country's recent military standoff with India said on Saturday that Islamabad can develop a 'phenomenal' counterterror partnership with Delhi, similar to the one it has with Washington. India blames Pakistan for arming and funding militants who carry out subversive activities in the part of disputed Kashmir it governs, an allegation Islamabad has always denied. The two countries engaged in a military confrontation for four days last month after India accused Pakistan of supporting an attack at the Pahalgam tourist resort in Indian-administered Kashmir. Twenty-six people, mostly tourists, were killed in the attack. Pakistan enjoys counterterror cooperation with several countries, including the US, which includes intelligence sharing and other forms of coordination to thwart militant attacks. The head of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), General Michael Kurilla, this week praised Pakistan as a 'phenomenal partner' in counterterrorism efforts during a testimony. Speaking to reporters in Brussels, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who is the head of the Pakistani delegation, pointed out that the US and Pakistan have thwarted 'terrorist attacks' in Europe, the US and Pakistan through counter-terror coordination. 'Will we be more effectively able to combat terror if India and Pakistan sat together and coordinated, conducted intelligence sharing,' Bhutto Zardari asked in response to a question. Citing Kurilla's statement, Bhutto Zardari said Islamabad can develop a counter-terror partnership with New Delhi similar to the one it enjoyed with Washington. 'We can develop that phenomenal partnership with India as well,' he added. He lamented that there was no cooperation or coordination between the two nuclear-armed nations on combating 'terrorism,' adding that the two countries last had a dialogue on counter-terror in 2012. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the nine-member diplomatic group last month, headed by Bhutto Zardari, who is a former foreign minister and the head of the Pakistan Peoples Party. He has been leading a team to visits in New York, Washington DC, London and Brussels since June 2. Another delegation, led by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Syed Tariq Fatemi, has visited Moscow. While the ceasefire between the two countries continues to remain in place, tensions continue to simmer as India says it is holding in abeyance a decades-old water-sharing treaty with Pakistan. Islamabad had said after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty that it considered any attempt to stop or divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan to be an 'act of war.' About 80 percent of Pakistani farms depend on the Indus system, as do nearly all hydropower projects serving the country of some 250 million. Pakistan and India, bitter rivals, have fought two out of three wars over the disputed territory of Kashmir that they both claim in full but govern only parts of.
Arab News
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan's diplomatic team offers condolences to India over plane crash after arriving in Brussels
KARACHI: The head of Pakistan's delegation visiting world capitals to present Islamabad's position on a recent military standoff with New Delhi on Thursday expressed condolences over an Indian plane crash involving 242 people after his team arrived in Brussels to hold meetings. The Air India flight bound for London crashed minutes after takeoff from the western Indian city of Ahmedabad earlier in the day, according to the airline and local police. Authorities have not yet confirmed whether there were any fatalities in the flight that was en route to Gatwick Airport before it crashed in a civilian area near the airport. 'Saddened to hear a tragic incident occurred earlier today,' Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, a former Pakistani foreign minister, said in a social media post on X. 'Where an Air India flight with approximately 240 passengers crashed shortly after takeoff near Ahmedabad, India. I express my profound condolences to the people of India.' Pakistan and India have launched parallel diplomatic offensives around the world following their worst military confrontation in decades that saw an exchange of missile, drone and artillery strikes between the nuclear-armed neighbors before the US and other allies brokered a ceasefire on May 10. The Pakistani delegation has already visited the United States and the United Kingdom before arriving in Belgium. 'Pakistan's diplomatic mission led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has reached Brussels, the European Union headquarters, after successful visits to Washington, New York and London,' Radio Pakistan said in its report on Thursday. 'The parliamentary delegation will inform the European authorities about India's anti-Pakistan intentions and aggressive actions.' It added the Pakistani delegation will also meet leading European think tanks and international media representatives. Presenting Pakistan's position on the recent tensions with India and highlighting the importance of resolving the Kashmir dispute in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions are key items on the agenda. Pakistan criticized Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar a day earlier for delivering 'bellicose punchlines' during his Brussels visit that took place shortly before the arrival of Islamabad's delegation in the city. The Indian minister had asserted New Delhi reserved the right to target Pakistan following a militant attack.
