ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Thursday that he had warned the United Nations of escalating tensions in South Asia, citing India’s “cease-fire violations on the Line of Control (LoC)” that are posing “serious risks for regional peace and security.”
Quershi said in a video message that over 3000 cease-fire violations that were “unprovoked and deliberate” have targeted “over 300 civilians, including women and children, since January 2019 alone.”
The minister said Indians had in five sections opened the LoC fence and deployed BrahMos cruise missiles and anti-tank Spike guided missiles “for use across” the border.
Qureshi demanded that the UN respond to the purported moves by India.
The Foreign Office said in a statement that in his most recent letter from Dec. 12, Qureshi apprised the UN Security Council and secretary general of “Indian actions that continue to escalate tensions in an already tense environment in South Asia.”
Qureshi urged the Security Council to play its role and reiterated Pakistan’s proposal to strengthen the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) presence in the region.
“Consistent with its responsibilities under the UN Charter and relevant Council resolutions on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, the Security Council must remain seized of the matter and play a proactive role in peaceful resolution of this long-standing dispute on the Council’s agenda,” Qureshi’s letter read.
Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor, director general of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Pakistan Army’s media wing, said in a Twitter post on Thursday that any aggression by the Indian side will be answered.
“Provocative statements and preparations for escalation along LOC by Indian COAS (chief of army staff) appear to be an effort as usual to divert world attention from wide spread protests in India against CAB. Pakistan Armed Forces shall befittingly respond to any Indian misadventure or aggression,” he wrote.
India deploys ‘cruise missiles’ in disputed Kashmir, Pakistani FM warns UN
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India deploys ‘cruise missiles’ in disputed Kashmir, Pakistani FM warns UN
- FM Qureshi accuses India of cease-fire violations, warns of escalation
- Pakistani forces ready to respond to aggression, says military spokesman
Indian army says Pakistan targeted three Kashmir military bases, Islamabad denies
- India said threat neutralized “with kinetic and non-kinetic means,” bases targeted in Jammu, Pathankot and Udhampur
- Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar denied his country’s military had carried out strikes in Jammu on Thursday
SRINAGAR, India: Pakistan on Thursday staged fresh strikes targeting three military stations in Indian-administered Kashmir with missiles and drones but there were no losses, the Indian military said, a charge Islamabad denied.
India said “the threat was neutralized ... with kinetic and non-kinetic means,” adding that the bases targeted were in “Jammu, Pathankot and Udhampur in proximity to the international boundary.”
Blackouts were reported from a swathe of cities in Indian-administered Kashmir, including Jammu, as well as cities in the neighboring state of Punjab such as Amritsar and Jalandhar.
“We can hear loud explosions, it feels like bombs are going off everywhere,” said Varinder Jeet Singh, a senior member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the national ruling party, speaking about Jammu.
“There is a complete blackout.”
Jammu resident Liyakat, who only gave one name, said: “I heard many explosions and electricity was cut off.”
Shesh Paul Vaid, a former director general of police for Jammu and Kashmir, also wrote on social media that there were “loud explosions.”
A security source, who was not authorized to speak to the media, confirmed the explosions.
Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar denied that his country’s military had carried out strikes in Jammu on Thursday.
On Wednesday, India launched missiles that it said targeted “terrorist camps,” and Pakistan retaliated by scrambling fighter jets and launching artillery fire.
A day later, India and Pakistan accused each other of carrying out waves of drone attacks.
At least 48 deaths have been reported on both sides since the escalation, 32 of them in Pakistan including children.
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said Thursday he had spoken to European Union top diplomat Kaja Kallas, adding:
“India has been measured in its actions. However, any escalation will get a firm response.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged India and Pakistan to take immediate steps to de-escalate and engage in “direct dialogue,” as he pressed Islamabad to end any support for “terrorist groups.”
US secretary of state Rubio urges Islamabad and New Delhi to step back
- Marco Rubio holds separate phone calls with Pakistani PM and Indian external affairs minister
- Urges Pakistan and India to improve communications, engage in “direct dialogue” to de-escalate
ISLAMABAD: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday held separate telephone calls with Pakistan’s premier and the external affairs minister of India and urged the two nations to engage in “direct dialogue” to de-escalate their ongoing conflict, the state department said.
India hit Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, called Azad Kashmir, with missiles on Wednesday and Pakistan said it shot down five Indian aircraft in retaliation in their worst clash in over two decades. Pakistan said 31 civilians were killed in the Indian strikes while New Delhi says it targeted “terror camps.”
On Thursday, Pakistan said it had shot down 29 drones launched by India while New Delhi said it had “neutralized” Islamabad’s attempts to target military targets with drones and missiles.
“He expressed US support for direct dialogue between India and Pakistan and encouraged continued efforts to improve communications,” the state department said in two separate statements after Rubio spoke to Pakistani Premier Shehbaz Sharif and Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
“The Secretary emphasized the need for immediate de-escalation.”
India is an important US partner for Washington, which aims to counter China’s rising influence, while Pakistan remains an ally, despite its diminished importance after the US withdrawal from neighboring Afghanistan in 2021.
Both India and Pakistan claim Muslim-majority Kashmir in full, with each controlling only part and having fought wars in the past over the region.
The latest standoff was triggered by an April 22 attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Pakistan, which has denied the claims and called for a neutral investigation.
Pakistan’s Chinese-made jet brought down two Indian fighter aircraft — US officials
- Performance of leading Chinese fighter jet against Western rival is being closely watched in Washington
- Episode may offer insights into how Beijing might fare in any showdown over Taiwan or the wider Indo-Pacific
ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON: A top Chinese-made Pakistani fighter plane shot down at least two Indian military aircraft on Wednesday, two US officials told Reuters, marking a major milestone for Beijing’s advanced fighter jet.
The performance of a leading Chinese fighter jet against a Western rival is being closely watched in Washington for insights into how Beijing might fare in any showdown over Taiwan or the wider Indo-Pacific.
One US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there was high confidence that Pakistan had used the Chinese-made J-10 aircraft to launch air-to-air missiles against Indian fighter jets — bringing down at least two.
Another official said at least one Indian jet that was shot down was a French-made Rafale fighter aircraft.
Both officials said Pakistan’s F-16 aircraft, made by Lockheed Martin, were not used in the shootdown.
Delhi has not acknowledged the loss of any of its planes and instead said it carried out successful strikes against what it said was “terrorist” infrastructure inside Pakistan.
World powers from the US to Russia and China have called for calm in one of the world’s most dangerous, and most populated, nuclear flashpoint regions.
In France, Rafale manufacturer Dassault Aviation and the MBDA consortium, which makes the Meteor air-to-air missile, could not immediately be reached for comment on a public holiday.
While Reuters reported on Wednesday that three Indian planes went down, citing local government officials in India, this marks the first Western confirmation that Pakistan’s Chinese-made jets were used in the shootdowns.
Pakistan’s Defense minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, told Reuters on Thursday that the J-10 was used to shoot down three French-made Rafale planes, which were newly acquired by India.
Pakistan says it downed five Indian planes in air-to-air combat.
Indian villagers near Pakistan border call for ceasefire as shelling kills at least 13
- The shelling damaged several religious sites, including a temple, a Sikh shrine and a mosque
- Statement released by India said dead include three women, five children killed in “Pakistani firing”
Poonch, Indian-administered Kashmir: Indian villagers called for a ceasefire on Thursday after at least 13 civilians were killed by what authorities said was Pakistani shelling in Poonch, along the India-Pakistan border, in Jammu and Kashmir.
The shelling damaged several religious sites, including a temple, a Sikh shrine, and a mosque.
“We appeal to the government that there should be a ceasefire as soon as possible. There should be peace and harmony,” said a villager Malkeet Singh.
A statement released by the Indian government on Thursday said 16 lives, including three women and five children, were lost “due to Pakistani firing.”
Pakistan said at least 31 of its civilians were killed and about 50 wounded in Wednesday’s strikes and in cross-border shelling across the frontier in Kashmir.
The nuclear-armed neighbors’ tit-for-tat measures began after gunmen opened fire in the Baisaran Valley, a popular tourist attraction in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam area, on the afternoon of April 22, killing 26 people and wounding several others before fleeing into the surrounding pine forests.
Although Pakistan’s federal government has pledged to respond to India’s strikes, Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told The New York Times on Wednesday Pakistan was ready to de-escalate.
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said New Delhi did not intend to escalate the situation.
“However, if there are military attacks on us, there should be no doubt that it will be met with a very, very firm response,” he said at India-Iran Joint Commission Meeting.
“Our livestock and belongings are all gone. Nothing is left. This shelling must stop, and there should be peace. For God’s sake, give us peace. We want peace for everyone,” said a resident of Uri on the Indian side of the border.
Silent streets, shuttered shops: Fear grips Kotli after India strikes in Azad Kashmir
- District official says missile strike on house and mosque killed two siblings and injured two others
- Residents deny India’s claim of targeting ‘terrorist infrastructure,’ say civilians were the target
KOTLI, Azad Kashmir: A convoy of journalists escorted by the Pakistani military and officials traveled through the scenic but tense roads of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) this week, arriving in the afternoon in Kotli, where an Indian strike on a mosque on Wednesday early morning had killed two people.
The usually bustling city stood silent, its shops shuttered, roads empty and anxious residents watching from a distance.
Amid the most intense military flare-up between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan in decades, New Delhi said it had struck nine “terrorist infrastructure” sites in Pakistan and AJK early Wednesday. AJK is the part of the disputed Kashmir valley administered by Pakistan while Jammu and Kashmir is a region administered by India.
India described Wednesday’s strikes as retaliation for an April 22 attack in its part of Kashmir that killed 26 tourists. Delhi attributed that attack to Pakistan, a claim Islamabad has repeatedly denied.
Pakistani authorities said six locations were hit across the country during Indian strikes, resulting in 31 deaths and 57 injuries. The Pakistan army spokesperson said the military responded by downing five Indian aircraft.
“It [the attack] happened after 12:30 a.m. on [Wednesday], when people were asleep and were jolted awake by the sound of the blasts,” Dawood Ahmed, a local resident, told Arab News near the mosque in Kotli that was hit by Indian strikes.
“It happened so suddenly, and people were so terrified that they rushed out of their homes with their children ... We thought a major attack had occurred and that Kotli had been surrounded.”
Ahmed said the Nakial sector on the Line of Control (LoC), the restive de facto border separating the Pakistani and Indian sides of Kashmir, was about 22 kilometers from the area.
“So, we are not used to regular firing or skirmishes,” he added. “This was something entirely new for us.”
Asked about the Indian claim that it had targeted a militant facility, Ahmed said the building was just a mosque. No one lived there and it was occupied only when the imam came to lead prayers.
Arab News could not independently verify this.
“PLACE OF WORSHIP”
Nasir Rafiq, the area’s deputy commissioner, said a house located next to the mosque was also hit by the Indian strikes.
“Two people, a 19-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy, both siblings, were killed in the attack, and two others were injured including a woman and her son,” he told Arab News, standing in front of the destroyed house and mosque.
He said the siblings, both students, had come from the nearby Nakial town. The elder sister was attending university and the younger brother was in school.
As the media delegation remained at the site, more residents gathered, listening closely to the conversations between journalists and locals.
Dr. Mazhar Iqbal Tahir, head of a local hospital, said the blast was so massive that staff couldn’t immediately understand what had happened.
“We immediately imposed emergency [at the hospital] and called all doctors and health care professionals,” he told Arab News.
Tahir said the hospital treated the injured, but both siblings had died before they were brought in.
Umar Farooq, a local university professor, said Kotli was one of the most populated cities in AJK and far from the LoC, questioning how India could have bombed such a place.
“There is no military target here, there is no paramilitary target here, and this is the question that I am raising,” he told Arab News.
“Just take a look around,” he said, gesturing toward the mosque. “This is a place of worship. India is the signatory of the Geneva Conventions and other international humanitarian agreements. Still they have done this to us.”
