US vows to hold Houthi rebels accountable for UAE attack
Three people were killed in Monday's attack on an Abu Dhabi oil facility
The UAE has vowed reprisals after the attack claimed by Iran-backed militia
Updated 18 January 2022
AFP
WASHINGTON: The United States condemned Monday's drone strike on Abu Dhabi claimed by Yemen's Houthis and vowed to hold the rebels accountable for the "terrorist attack" that left three people dead.
A Pakistani and two Indians working for oil giant ADNOC were killed as three petrol tanks exploded near a storage facility, while a fire also ignited in a construction area at Abu Dhabi airport in the heart of the UAE.
Police said “small flying objects, possibly belonging to drones” were found at both sites. Drone attacks have been a hallmark of the Iran-backed Yemeni rebels’ assaults on neighboring Saudi Arabia.
"The Houthis have claimed responsibility for this attack, and we will work with the UAE and international partners to hold them accountable," National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a White House statement.
"Our commitment to the security of the UAE is unwavering and we stand beside our Emirati partners against all threats to their territory."
The United Arab Emirates -- of which Abu Dhabi is the capital -- is part of a Riyadh-led military coalition that supports Yemen's government against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who have repeatedly targeted Saudi Arabia with cross-border strikes.
The State Department echoed the condemnation, according to a statement from spokesman Ned Price.
"We express our condolences to the families of these victims and to the people of the UAE," he said.
"We reiterate our unwavering commitment to the security of the UAE and stand united with our Emirati partner."
Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke later Monday with Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Price said in a second statement.
"Secretary Blinken condemned the terrorist attacks today, which killed and wounded innocent civilians," Price said.
"The Secretary expressed his solidarity with the Emirati people and voiced his condolences for the loss of life."
The UAE has vowed reprisals after the attack on the oil facility.
“We condemn the Houthi terrorist militia’s targeting of civilian areas and facilities on UAE soil today... this sinful targeting will not go unpunished,” UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan said in a statement, as his ministry described the attack as a “heinous criminal escalation.”
The incident follows a surge in fighting in Yemen, including advances by UAE-trained troops. The rebels also seized a UAE-flagged ship and its international crew earlier this month.
ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday described New Delhi’s accusations that Pakistan had tried to carry out strikes inside India overnight as a “big lie,” after India said it had “neutralized” Islamabad’s attempts to target military targets with drones and missiles.
Fighting has escalated between the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbors since Wednesday when India struck multiple locations in Pakistan in response to a deadly April 22 attack targeting tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blames on its neighbor.
Pakistan, which denies any link to the Kashmir violence, said it had shot down five Indian fighter jets in retaliation. Thursday brought more violence as Pakistan said it had downed 29 Israeli-manufactured Harop drones launched from India overnight and New Delhi said Islamabad had launched an air attack using “drones and missiles” before it retaliated to destroy an air defense system in Lahore.
“Today, a politically based and motivated story was issued that last night Pakistan attacked different Indian military installations and military areas. It’s a big lie. It’s a very big lie,” Dar, who is also the country’s foreign minister, told reporters.
He said India had “concocted” the story to justify attempting to carry out waves of drone attacks inside Pakistan.
“What they did today [sending drones], from Islamabad to South Pakistan till Karachi, in at least two dozen places, is shameful, regretful and condemnable,” Dar added.
The foreign minister’s press conference followed a statement by India’s defense ministry that said Pakistan on Thursday morning “attempted to engage a number of military targets ... using drones and missiles,” which were “neutralized” by air defense systems.
New Delhi said areas targeted included sites in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, and India’s Punjab state, including the key cities of Amritsar, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, as well as Bhuj in Gujarat state.
“The debris of these attacks is now being recovered from a number of locations,” it added.
The defense ministry said in retaliation, its military had “targeted air defense radars and systems at a number of locations in Pakistan,” saying the “response has been in the same domain, with the same intensity, as Pakistan.”
It added that it had been “reliably learnt that an air defense system at Lahore has been neutralized.”
People gather in front of the shattered glasses of a restaurant outside the Rawalpindi cricket stadium after an alleged drone was shot down in Rawalpindi on May 8, 2025. (AFP)
Dar, and military spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, have both rejected the claim.
“29 drones so far have been neutralized,” Chaudhry said at the press conference alongside Dar.
“Only one managed to partially engage its target for which it came. Some equipment was damaged and four soldiers were injured.”
He said three civilians had been killed and four injured during the exchange.
The conflict between India and Pakistan has been confined in recent decades mostly to the disputed mountainous region of Kashmir. But the air strikes on Wednesday morning, which also hit the towns of Bahawalpur and Muridke in the heart of the country, and the drone incursions into some of the country’s largest cities on Thursday, were seen in Islamabad as a major escalation.
One drone was shot down over the garrison city of Rawalpindi, home to the Pakistan army’s heavily fortified headquarters.
One drone hit a military target near Lahore, the capital and largest city of the province of Punjab, and the second-largest city in Pakistan after Karachi.
Other places where drones were neutralized were Gujranwala, Chakwal, Attock, Bahawalpur, Miano, Chor and near Karachi, which the country’s largest city and commercial capital.
India has also accused Pakistan of having “increased the intensity of its unprovoked firing across the Line of Control using mortars and heavy caliber artillery” across the de facto border that divides Kashmir between the two nations.
India said the number of people who had been killed by Pakistani firing since the escalation of violence on Wednesday had risen to 16, including three women and five children.
Speaking in parliament, Pakistani Information Ministers said Pakistan had killed 40-50 Indian soldiers and destroyed a brigade headquarters along the Line of Control. The claims could not be independently verified and India has not commented on it.
Workers place candles and flowers prior to a candle light vigil for children, who were killed in the Indian missile strikes, in Islamabad, Pakistan on May 8, 2025. (AP)
India and Pakistan have fought three wars in the past, two of them over Kashmir, which they both claim in full but rule in part.
Since April 22, they have intensified firing and shelling across the Line of Control.
For decades India has accused Pakistan of supporting militants in attacks on Indian interests, especially in Indian-administered Kashmir. Pakistan denies such support and in turn accuses India of backing separatist and other insurgents in Pakistan, which New Delhi denies.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Ministry of Religious Affairs has advised all pilgrims performing Hajj through private tour operators to verify the authenticity and quota approval of a particular company before making bookings and payments, state-run APP news agency said on Thursday.
The total quota granted to Pakistan for Hajj 2025 was 179,210, which is usually divided equally between the government and the private schemes. This year, however, the private Hajj quota has been significantly reduced, impacting over 67,000 pilgrims.
Private operators were allotted 89,801 slots initially, but the final number was reduced to around 23,620 last month due to non-compliance of the private sector with Saudi booking regulations and deadlines.
In a report published by the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) on Thursday, Religious Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Muhammad Umar Butt issued guidelines for Hajj pilgrims, including verifying the authenticity and quota approval of private tour operators before making payments, visiting the ministry’s official website to confirm registration and avoiding reliance on unverified advertisements or information.
“The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony has advised all prospective pilgrims intending to perform Hajj under the private Hajj scheme to exercise utmost caution when booking packages through private tour operators (Munazzameen),” APP said.
“The advisory comes after some private organizers failed to pay dues ... within the timeline set by the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah,” because of which they did not get permission to serve as Hajj operators.
Butt added that Hajj operators should not book pilgrims beyond their approved quotas.
While a precise number of worldwide pilgrims for Hajj 2025 is difficult to determine in advance, projections suggest it will be a record-breaking year, with over 2.5 million Muslims performing the pilgrimage.
KARACHI: A record-breaking 6,482-point plunge on Thursday stunned the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), marking the largest single-day decline in the index’s history as investors feared escalation amid an ongoing standoff between India and Pakistan.
The bloodbath comes as Pakistan and India indulged in the worst fighting between them in decades this week, with India striking multiple locations in Pakistan on Wednesday after a deadly April 22 attack targeting tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blames on its neighbor.
Pakistan, which denies any link to the Kashmir violence, said it had shot down five Indian fighter jets in retaliation. Thursday brought more violence as Pakistan said it had downed 25 drones from India overnight and New Delhi said it “neutralized” Pakistani attempts to strike military targets with drones and missiles.
“The market crash followed alarming geopolitical developments after ISPR Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry announced that Pakistani forces had neutralized 25 drones sent by India,” Topline Securities said in its daily market review.
“He also confirmed that four army personnel were injured after one drone managed to partially strike a military target, despite the majority being intercepted.”
The statement sent shockwaves through financial markets, triggering widespread panic selling as investors rushed to offload positions, leading to a broad-based decline across sectors.
Pakistan’s benchmark KSE-100 Index started the day with a 1.7 percent rally but turned bearish and slumped as much as eight percent after reports of India’s drone strikes triggered panic selling at the bourse.
The stock gauge, bullish otherwise, ended the day with a 5.89 percent decline to 103,526, according to PSX data.
The selling pressure came largely from leveraged investors, Shahid Ali Habib, the chief executive officer at Arif Habib Ltd., told Arab News.
“Pakistan’s stocks are under pressure as it now seems that Pakistan will also go on to respond [to India] and that response will also escalate further,” he said.
“It’s not going to end actually soon and the escalation is happening.”
However, Habib said he expected a “sharp rebound” for Pakistan’s stocks once a third party like the US or longtime ally China mediated and defused the conflict.
The renewed geopolitical tension has caused Pakistan’s market to fall about 12 percent from April 23 to May 8.
The latest conflict with India is a setback for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s effort to revive the country’s debt-ridden economy through increasing revenues and exports with the help of an International Monetary Fund’s $7 billion reforms-oriented loan program.
KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board has rescheduled the HBL PSL X match between Peshawar Zalmi and Karachi Kings after Pakistan shot down an Indian drone near the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium where the game was set to take place today, Thursday.
The Pakistan military said on Thursday it had shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones launched by India at multiple locations. One drone was shot down over the garrison city of Rawalpindi, military spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said in a televised statement. Rawalpindi is home to the Pakistan army’s heavily fortified headquarters.
The drone was shot down near the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
“The PCB will announce the revised date in due course,” the cricket board said, saying VIP Gallery and enclosures ticket holders could obtain refunds from TCS Express Centers while tickets bought online would be automatically reimbursed in the accounts used at the time of booking.
The PCB’s statement did not mention the drone attacks, but the postponement comes in the wake of violence between neighbors India and Pakistan, who this week have engaged in the worst direct military confrontation in decades.
Fighting has escalated between the nuclear-armed neighbors since Wednesday when India said it struck nine “terrorist infrastructure” sites in Pakistan, some of them linked to an attack by militants that killed 26 in Indian-administered Kashmir on Apr. 22. Pakistan said 31 people were killed in the Indian strikes and vowed to retaliate, subsequently saying it had shot down five Indian aircraft and a combat drone.
On Thursday, the Pakistan army said India was “attacking Pakistan with Israeli-made Harop drones in panic” while India’s defense ministry said Islamabad had launched an overnight air attack using “drones and missiles” before New Delhi retaliated to destroy an air defense system in the eastern city of Lahore. The Pakistani defense minister has rejected India’s claims.
Flight operations shut at several Indian airports, IPL match moved amid Pakistan standoff
Several airports in northern India have been closed after New Delhi launched strikes on neighboring Pakistan on Wednesday
Match between Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings was due to take place in Dharamsala, where the airport has closed
Updated 08 May 2025
AFP
NEW DELHI: India’s IPL cricket match on Sunday between Mumbai and Punjab has been moved to Gujarat, local media reported on Thursday, while airlines suspended flight operations from more than two dozen airports across northern and western regions of the country amid heightened tensions with Pakistan.
The match between Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings was due to take place in Dharamsala, where the airport has closed in the wake of violence between India and neighboring Pakistan.
But Thursday evening’s match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals, which is also set to take place in Dharamsala, will proceed as planned, as will all other games in coming days.
Sunday’s match will now be played in the city of Ahmedabad in the western state of Gujarat, the state’s cricket association secretary Anil Patel told the Press Trust of India news agency on Thursday.
Several airports in northern India have been closed after New Delhi launched strikes on neighboring Pakistan on Wednesday.
In adviseries to passengers, key domestic airlines said their flights will remain suspended until Saturday from airports including Amritsar in northern Punjab and Srinagar in India-controlled Kashmir, bordering Pakistan.
India’s Civil Aviation Ministry hasn’t officially commented on the closure of airports after tensions flared up with Pakistan. A spokeswoman for the ministry, Beena Yadav, declined to comment on Thursday.
Indigo, the country’s biggest domestic carrier, on Wednesday canceled 165 flights, while Air India and Air India Express had a similar number of cancelations. Air India even diverted two of its international flights enroute from Amritsar, close to Lahore, to New Delhi, because of the sudden closure of the airport.
The strikes on Wednesday came two weeks after New Delhi blamed Islamabad for backing an attack on tourists in the Indian-administered side of disputed Kashmir, a charge Pakistan denies.
The arch-rivals have since exchanged fire across their contested border in Kashmir. The violence has raised fears of a wider conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
