Indian-administered Kashmir crackdown sparks anger as Pakistan tensions escalate

Indian-administered Kashmir crackdown sparks anger as Pakistan tensions escalate
People gather near a damaged house related to the family of Ahsan Ul Haq Sheikh, who is suspected of involvement in the Pahalgam tourist attack, in Murran village of Pulwama, south of Srinagar, on April 26, 2025. (AFP)
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Updated 28 April 2025
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Indian-administered Kashmir crackdown sparks anger as Pakistan tensions escalate

Indian-administered Kashmir crackdown sparks anger as Pakistan tensions escalate
  • New Delhi has accused Pakistan of supporting ‘cross-border terrorism’ after gunmen killed 26 people in Kashmir on Apr. 22
  • Islamabad has denied any role and called attempts to link Pakistan to the attack ‘frivolous,’ vowing to respond to Indian action

SRINAGAR: Anger in Indian-administered Kashmir escalated on Monday over sweeping detentions in the hunt for the gunmen who carried out a deadly attack last week that New Delhi blames on arch-rival Pakistan.
New Delhi has accused Pakistan of supporting “cross-border terrorism” after gunmen killed 26 people on April 22, the worst attack on civilians in contested Muslim-majority Kashmir for a quarter of a century.
Islamabad has denied any role, calling attempts to link Pakistan to the attack “frivolous” and vowing to respond to Indian action.
Relations between the nuclear-armed rivals have plunged to their lowest level in years, sparking worries by analysts of possible military action.
The attack also sparked a huge manhunt for the gunmen in Kashmir, with Indian security forces blowing up nine homes of suspected rebels, as well as detaining nearly 2,000 people for questioning, a senior police official told AFP.
“Punish the guilty, show them no mercy, but don’t let innocent people become collateral damage,” Jammu and Kashmir’s Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said in a statement.
Aga Ruhullah, a federal lawmaker from Kashmir, said: “Kashmir and Kashmiris are being given a collective punishment.”
Security operations in the search for the gunmen come as India and Pakistani forces have exchanged fire across the de facto border in the rugged and remote high-altitude Himalayan outposts.
India’s army said on Monday its troops and Pakistani forces had fired at each other for a fourth night in a row.
There were no reported casualties. Islamabad did not immediately confirm the gunfire from Pakistan.
“During the night of April 27-28... Pakistan Army posts initiated unprovoked small arms fire across the Line of Control,” the Indian army said in a statement, referring to the de facto border in contested Kashmir.
“Indian troops responded swiftly and effectively,” it said.
Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947.
Both claim the territory in full.
Rebels in the Indian-run area have waged an insurgency since 1989, seeking independence or a merger with Pakistan.
Indian police have issued wanted posters for three men — two Pakistanis and an Indian — who they say are members of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba group, a UN-designated terrorist organization.
They have announced a two million rupee ($23,500) bounty for information leading to each man’s arrest.
India is also hunting several of its own citizens in connection to the killings, sweeping up those they suspect may have information on the attackers.
“It’s a revolving door in police stations as part of the ongoing investigation,” said a senior police official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
“Some have already been let go, and more are being summoned to police stations,” the officer said.
The homes of men suspected of having links to the attackers have also been blown up at night.
Yasmeena, the sister of fugitive accused Ashif Sheikh, said her family was being punished, with their home demolished even though they had not seen her brother for three years.
“If my brother is involved, how is it the family’s sin?” she said.
“This house doesn’t belong to him alone.”
New Delhi has downgraded diplomatic ties since the attack, withdrawn visas for Pakistanis, suspended a water-sharing treaty, and announced the closure of the main land border crossing with Pakistan.
In response, Islamabad ordered the expulsion of Indian diplomats and military advisers, canceled visas for Indian nationals and barred its airspace to Indian airplanes.
India’s Defense Minister Rajnath Singh met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday after warning last week that those responsible for the attack in Kashmir would see a response “loud and clear.”
The United Nations has urged the arch-rivals to show “maximum restraint” so that issues can be “resolved peacefully through meaningful mutual engagement.”
China, which shares a border with both India and Pakistan, urged both sides on Monday to “exercise restraint, meet each other halfway” and “properly handle relevant differences through dialogue,” foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said.
Iran has already offered to mediate, and Saudi Arabia has said Riyadh was trying to “prevent an escalation.”


Pakistan kicks off nationwide polio drive, aims to vaccinate 45 million children

Pakistan kicks off nationwide polio drive, aims to vaccinate 45 million children
Updated 17 min 47 sec ago
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Pakistan kicks off nationwide polio drive, aims to vaccinate 45 million children

Pakistan kicks off nationwide polio drive, aims to vaccinate 45 million children
  • Minister says community engagement essential to eliminate the polio virus from the country
  • Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where polio remains endemic

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday kicked off a third nationwide anti-polio vaccination campaign of this year that aims to inoculate more than 45 million children under the age of five.
Polio is a paralyzing disease with no cure. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine, along with the completion of the routine immunization schedule for all children are essential to ensure strong immunity against the disease.
Pakistan has confirmed 10 cases so far this year, according to the polio program. Environmental surveillance has detected the virus in 272 sewage samples from 127 testing sites, across 68 districts, signaling continued circulation.
Inaugurating the campaign at the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) in Islamabad, Health Minister Mustafa Kamal said community engagement was inevitable in eliminating the virus from Pakistan, urging parents to immunize all children under the age of five years.
“Protect your children from permanent disability by vaccinating them,” Kamal said, describing frontline anti-polio workers as the “real heroes.”
“Full-fledged community engagement is essential for the eradication of polio.”
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where polio remains endemic.
Pakistan’s polio program on Sunday described the weeklong campaign as a critical intervention in the country’s “final push” to interrupt poliovirus transmission and achieve eradication by end of 2025.
Around 400,000 frontline workers, including 225,000 women vaccinators, are taking part in the current campaign and will go door-to-door to inoculate children.
Pakistan’s polio program began in 1994, but efforts to eradicate the virus have been repeatedly undermined by vaccine misinformation and resistance from some religious hard-liners who claim that immunization is a foreign plot to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western espionage.
Militant groups have also frequently targeted polio vaccination teams and the security personnel assigned to protect them, often resulting in deadly attacks.


PM Sharif praises PSL teams for ‘excellent sportsmanship’ as Lahore lift title trophy

PM Sharif praises PSL teams for ‘excellent sportsmanship’ as Lahore lift title trophy
Updated 26 May 2025
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PM Sharif praises PSL teams for ‘excellent sportsmanship’ as Lahore lift title trophy

PM Sharif praises PSL teams for ‘excellent sportsmanship’ as Lahore lift title trophy
  • Lahore registered a six-wicket win over Quetta, with Sikandar Raza hitting the winning runs
  • Needing 13 in the last over, Raza completed the task with two sixes and as many boundaries

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday praised all Pakistan Super League (PSL) teams for demonstrating “excellent sportsmanship” in the tournament after Lahore Qalandars lifted the trophy for a third time.

Lahore Qalandars registered a six-wicket win over Quetta Gladiators on Sunday, with Sikandar Raza, who landed in Lahore just ten minutes before the toss, hitting the winning runs.

Needing 13 in the last over to complete a 202-run chase set by Quetta, the 39-year old Zimbabwean completed the task during his seven-ball 22 not out with two sixes and as many boundaries.

In a statement issued from his office, Sharif praised Quetta Gladiators and Lahore Qalandars for their excellent performance in the final match of the tenth edition of PSL.

“Lahore Qalandars successfully achieved the target after a thrilling match,” he was quoted as saying. “All the teams involved in PSL 10 showed excellent sportsmanship.”

Lahore Qalandars won their previous titles in 2022 and 2023.

The prime minister congratulated Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Mohsin Naqvi and the PCB administration on the successful conduct of the Twnety20 tournament.

“The prime minister paid tribute to all the players, especially the foreign players, whose participation made this successful event possible,” Sharif’s office said.

The tournament was put into jeopardy following a cross-border conflict between Pakistan and India this month. Both neighbors clashed for four days before agreeing to a United States-brokered ceasefire agreement on May 10.

Pakistan rescheduled PSL after a ten-day break, while the Indian Premier League — the world’s richest cricket tournament — was also interrupted.


Pakistan’s ‘Loss and Found Cell’ resolves over 2,500 missing item complaints by Hajj pilgrims — official

Pakistan’s ‘Loss and Found Cell’ resolves over 2,500 missing item complaints by Hajj pilgrims — official
Updated 26 May 2025
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Pakistan’s ‘Loss and Found Cell’ resolves over 2,500 missing item complaints by Hajj pilgrims — official

Pakistan’s ‘Loss and Found Cell’ resolves over 2,500 missing item complaints by Hajj pilgrims — official
  • Pakistani pilgrims have been urged to take precautionary measures such as writing their passport numbers, names on belongings
  • This year’s Hajj is expected to take place between June 4 and June 9, with nearly 112,620 Pakistanis set to perform the pilgrimage

ISLAMABAD: A ‘Lost and Found Cell,’ established by the Pakistani Hajj mission, has resolved more than 2,500 missing item complaints lodged by Pakistani pilgrims this year, Pakistani state media reported, citing an official in Makkah.

This year’s Hajj is expected to take place between June 4 and June 9, with nearly 112,620 Pakistanis set to perform the annual pilgrimage. Of these, approximately 89,000 Pakistanis are traveling under the government scheme and 23,620 through private tour operators.

The South Asian country has set up a Medical Mission and a Lost and Found Cell to facilitate Pakistani pilgrims in case of health or any other emergencies during their stay in the Kingdom, the Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.

Adnan Wazir, the Lost and Found Cell in-charge, told the state broadcaster that his team has been working round the clock, in two shifts to leave no stone unturned in facilitating the ‘guests of Almighty Allah.’

“The Lost and Found Cell in Makkah has successfully resolved 2,539 complaints out of 2,611 regarding missing items belonging to intending pilgrims,” he was quoted as saying.

“All-out efforts are underway to address 72 remaining complaints so that the valuable belongings can be returned to their rightful owners at the earliest.”

Wazir said they have a robust mechanism in place to trace and recover lost items, urging the pilgrims to lodge complaints about missing belongings to officials on duty or directly at the phone number: 00966-125505326.

He strongly advised Pakistani devotees to take precautionary measures such as clearly writing their passport numbers and names on their belongings.

The official said a Wheelchair Desk is also functional at the cell to assist deserving pilgrims upon a refundable security deposit of 200 Saudi Riyals.

Pakistan launched its Hajj flight operation on Apr. 29 which will continue till May 31. The annual pilgrimage is followed by Eid Al-Adha, one of the two major Islamic festivals that involves the traditional animal sacrifice.


At Istanbul meeting, Pakistan’s Sharif, Turkiye’s Erdogan call for ‘unimpeded’ aid for Gaza

At Istanbul meeting, Pakistan’s Sharif, Turkiye’s Erdogan call for ‘unimpeded’ aid for Gaza
Updated 26 May 2025
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At Istanbul meeting, Pakistan’s Sharif, Turkiye’s Erdogan call for ‘unimpeded’ aid for Gaza

At Istanbul meeting, Pakistan’s Sharif, Turkiye’s Erdogan call for ‘unimpeded’ aid for Gaza
  • Pakistani and Turkish top leaders discuss regional and international developments, call for ‘immediate ceasefire’ in Gaza
  • Israel’s military offensive has killed 53,900 Palestinians since October 2023, according to Gaza health authorities

ISLAMABAD: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met in Istanbul on Sunday and called for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza and access to “unimpeded humanitarian aid” for the people of the besieged enclave.

Fresh Israeli military strikes killed at least 30 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Sunday. Israel launched its latest air and ground war in Gaza after a cross-border attack by the Hamas group on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people by Israeli tallies, with 251 hostages abducted into Gaza. The war has killed more than 53,900 Palestinians since, according to Gaza health authorities, and devastated the coastal strip. 

The entire 2.1 million population of Gaza is facing prolonged food shortages, with nearly half a million people in a catastrophic situation of hunger, acute malnutrition, starvation, illness and death, according to the World Health Organization. Food security groups say more than 93 percent of children in Gaza, about 930,000, are at risk of famine. Using satellite data, the United Nations estimated in February that 69 percent of the structures in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed.

“Prime Minister Sharif and President Erdoğan discussed pressing regional and international developments,” Sharif’s office said in a statement after the two leaders held delegation-level talks in Istanbul.

“They also expressed deep concern over the grave humanitarian situation in Gaza, urgently calling for an immediate ceasefire and unimpeded humanitarian access to the affected Palestinian population.”

With most of Gaza’s two million population squeezed into an ever narrowing zone on the coast and in the area around the southern city of Khan Younis by Israel’s military operation, international pressure to get aid in quickly has ratcheted up.

Israel’s initial blockade on Gaza, immediately following the October 7 attacks, prevented the entry of humanitarian aid for several weeks. As the war progressed, aid has been allowed in limited quantities.

Israel has recently announced that a new aid system, sponsored by the United States and run by private contractors, will soon begin operations from four distribution centers in the south of Gaza, but many details of how the system will work remain unclear. The UN has already said it will not work with the new system, which it says will leave aid distribution conditional on Israel’s political and military aims.

Israel says its forces will only provide security for the centers and will not distribute aid themselves.

Even as the aid has begun to slowly trickle in, the Israeli military has continued its intensified ground and air operation launched last week, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said would end with Israel taking full control of the Gaza Strip.
 


Journeyman Sikandar Raza blasts Lahore Qalandars to Pakistan Super League title

Journeyman Sikandar Raza blasts Lahore Qalandars to Pakistan Super League title
Updated 25 May 2025
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Journeyman Sikandar Raza blasts Lahore Qalandars to Pakistan Super League title

Journeyman Sikandar Raza blasts Lahore Qalandars to Pakistan Super League title
  • Needing 13 in last over to complete 202-run chase set by Quetta, Raza completed task during his seven-ball 22 not out 
  • Sri Lankan Kusal Perera led the chase with an undefeated 31-ball 62 studded with five boundaries and four sixes

LAHORE: Lahore Qalandars won the Pakistan Super League with a six-wicket win against Quetta Gladiators on Sunday, with Sikandar Raza hitting the winning runs after only landing back in Lahore minutes prior to the start of the final.

The 39-year old Zimbabwean landed in Lahore just ten minutes before the toss, after scoring a half century in his country’s innings defeat in the Nottingham Test against England a day before.

Needing 13 in the last over to complete a 202-run chase set by Quetta, Raza completed the task during his seven-ball 22 not out with two sixes and as many boundaries.

He hit a maximum and a four in the last over to seal the victory with one ball remaining.

Sri Lankan Kusal Perera led the chase with an undefeated 31-ball 62 studded with five boundaries and four sixes, adding 59 runs during the unbroken fifth wicket stand.

Opener Mohammad Naeem scored 46, with half a dozen sixes and one boundary, and Abdullah Shafique hit 41 to set Lahore on course for the highest-ever chase in a PSL final.

Lahore sealed their third title following triumphs in 2022 and 2023.

Raza said it was unbelievable to reach Lahore and achieve success.

“It is unbelievable, batted for 40-odd overs in the Test, flew to Dubai where I had breakfast and then lunch in Abu Dhabi and arrived minutes from the toss, so it’s incredible,” he said.

Hasan Nawaz scored a brilliant 76 to lift Quetta to 201-9 after they won the toss and batted.

Coming in at 21-2, Nawaz added 67 for the fourth wicket with Avishka Fernando (29) and another 46 with Dinesh Chandimal (22) to steady the ship.

Lahore skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi was the pick of Lahore’s bowlers with 3-24.

It was Faheem Ashraf (28) who lifted Quetta past 200, taking 23 off the last Salman Mirza over.

The six-team PSL was suspended on May 9 following the conflict between Pakistan and India.

However, the league resumed on May 17 after a ceasefire between the two countries.