Pakistan and Hungary scrap diplomatic visa requirement, sign cultural cooperation deals

PAHALGAM, India: Hindus began a vast month-long pilgrimage in contested Indian Kashmir on Thursday, with many of the faithful starting from near the site where a deadly April attack triggered conflict with Pakistan.

Last year, half a million devotees took part in the Amarnath pilgrimage to a sacred ice pillar located in a cave in the forested Himalayan hills above the town of Pahalgam.

Pahalgam is the site where gunmen on April 22 killed 26 mostly Hindu tourists.

New Delhi said the gunmen were backed by Pakistan, claims Islamabad rejected — triggering a series of tit-for-tat diplomatic measures that escalated into a four-day conflict.

It was the worst standoff by the nuclear-armed nations since 1999, with more than 70 people killed in missile, drone and artillery fire on both sides, before a May 10 ceasefire.

But pilgrim Muneshwar Das Shashtri, who traveled from Uttar Pradesh state, told AFP “there is no fear of any kind.”

“Our army is standing guard everywhere. No one can raise a finger toward us,” he said.

India has ramped up security for the event, deploying 45,000 troops with high-tech surveillance tools overseeing the grueling trek to reach the high-altitude cave, dedicated to the Hindu deity of destruction Shiva.

“We have multi-layered and in-depth security arrangements so that we can make the pilgrimage safe and smooth for the devotees,” said VK Birdi, police chief for the Muslim-majority territory.

At Pahalgam, soldiers have turned a tented base camp into a fortress encircled by razor wire.

Troops in newly deployed armored cars, or from gun positions behind sandbags, keep a close watch — efforts boosted by facial recognition cameras.

“High-quality surveillance cameras have been installed at all major points along the route,” said Manoj Sinha, the Indian-appointed top administrator for Jammu and Kashmir.

All pilgrims must be registered and travel in guarded vehicle convoys, until they start out to walk.

Camouflaged bunkers have been erected in the forests along the route, where dozens of makeshift kitchens provide free food.

Electronic radio cards pinpoint their location.

Pilgrims can take several days to reach the cave, perched at 3,900 meters (12,800 feet) high, around 30 kilometers (18 miles) uphill from the last easily motorable track.

“Whatever the attack that was carried out here, I am not afraid. I have come to get a glimpse of baba (the ice formation)” said Ujwal Yadav, 29, from India’s Uttar Pradesh state, undertaking his first pilgrimage to the shrine.

“Such are the security arrangements here that no one can be hurt.”

Sinha has said that “public confidence is returning,” but admits that pilgrim registration had dipped by 10 percent this year.

Once a modest, little-known ritual, attended by only a few thousand mainly local devotees, the pilgrimage has grown since an armed insurgency erupted in 1989.

India’s government has since heavily promoted the annual event, which runs until August 9.

Rebels fighting against India’s control of Kashmir have said the pilgrimage is not a target, but have warned they would act if it was used to assert Hindu dominance.

In 2017, suspected rebels attacked a pilgrim bus, killing 11 people.

The gunmen who carried out the April 22 killings remain at large, despite the manhunt by security forces in Kashmir where India has half a million soldiers permanently deployed.

On June 22, India’s National Investigation Agency said two men had been arrested from the Pahalgam area who they said had “provided food, shelter and logistical support” to the gunmen.

Indian police have issued wanted notices for three of the gunmen, two of whom they said were Pakistani citizens. Pakistani has rejected the claim.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s disaster and weather authorities issued fresh flood warnings on Thursday as new monsoon rains are expected in parts of the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, with the national death toll from rain-related incidents rising to 64 in just over a week.

A weather system is currently active over Chakwal, Talagang, and Mianwali districts and is expected to bring rain, wind and thunderstorms to areas including Khushab, Sargodha, Bhakkar, Dera Ismail Khan and Lakki Marwat in the next two to four hours, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said in an advisory on Thursday morning.

“Public is advised to take precautionary measures during the weather activity accordingly,” the PMD said in a statement issued from its Islamabad office.

Separately, the Punjab Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) also warned of a fresh spell of monsoon rains across the province from July 5 to 10, with heavy downpours expected to trigger flash flooding, especially in low-lying and river-adjacent districts.

“The second monsoon spell will begin from July 5 across Punjab,” the PDMA said in an alert, listing expected rains in Rawalpindi, Murree, Attock, Chakwal, Lahore, Faisalabad, Sargodha, Bahawalpur, and D.G. Khan among other districts. 

“All relevant departments have been issued preemptive alerts on the instructions of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz,” it added.

The warning comes as Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) confirmed in a statement on Wednesday that at least 64 people, including 45 children and 31 women, had been killed and over 113 injured in rain-related incidents since June 26.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province accounted for 22 deaths, followed by Punjab with 21, Sindh with 15, and Balochistan with five, the NDMA said.

The authority has issued impact-based alerts highlighting the risk of urban flooding, flash floods, landslides and glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) across northern regions like Gilgit-Baltistan and KP as well as hill torrents in DG Khan and Rajanpur.

“The National Emergencies Operation Center has issued multiple alerts in light of forecasted severe weather conditions expected from 2nd to 8th July 2025,” the NDMA said.

In the country’s mountainous north, especially in Gilgit-Baltistan, high temperatures have accelerated glacier melt, compounding the risk of sudden floods and landslides in narrow valleys and near vulnerable glacial lakes, the authority added.

“Tourists are advised against visiting high-altitude and glacial regions during this period,” the NDMA warned, instructing municipal and district administrations to clear stormwater drains, activate emergency response teams and prepare for possible evacuations.

Pakistan, home to over 240 million people, is consistently ranked among the countries most vulnerable to climate change. In 2022, record-breaking monsoon rains and glacier melt caused catastrophic floods that affected 33 million people and killed more than 1,700.

In its alert on Thursday, the PDMA specifically warned of urban flooding in northern and central Punjab, while the PMD warned of localized thunderstorms and strong winds hitting key agricultural and urban districts over the next 48 hours.

The authorities have urged the public to stay indoors during thunderstorms, avoid unnecessary travel and keep children away from electricity poles and waterlogged areas.

For emergencies, the PDMA advised citizens to contact its helpline 1129.