India and Pakistan urged to have ‘maximum restraint’ after Kashmir attack

India and Pakistan urged to have ‘maximum restraint’ after Kashmir attack
Indian soldiers stand guard as tourists (back) look on near a clock tower in Srinagar on April 24, 2025. (AFP)
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Updated 25 April 2025
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India and Pakistan urged to have ‘maximum restraint’ after Kashmir attack

India and Pakistan urged to have ‘maximum restraint’ after Kashmir attack
  • Relations have plunged to their lowest level in years after gunmen carried out the worst attack on civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir
  • Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since independence in 1947, with both claiming the territory in full but governing in part

NEW DELHI: The United Nations urged India and Pakistan to show “maximum restraint” as the nuclear-armed rivals imposed tit-for-tat diplomatic measures over a deadly shooting in Kashmir.
Relations have plunged to their lowest level in years, with India accusing Pakistan of supporting “cross-border terrorism” after gunmen carried out the worst attack on civilians in contested Muslim-majority Kashmir for a quarter of a century.
“We very much appeal to both the governments... to exercise maximum restraint, and to ensure that the situation and the developments we’ve seen do not deteriorate any further,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York on Thursday.
“Any issues between Pakistan and India, we believe, can be and should be resolved peacefully through meaningful mutual engagement.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday vowed to hunt down the gunmen responsible for killing 26 civilians at the popular tourist site of Pahalgam, after Indian police identified two of the three fugitive gunmen as Pakistani.
“I say to the whole world: India will identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backer,” Modi said, in his first speech since Tuesday’s attack in the Himalayan region.
“We will pursue them to the ends of the Earth.”
Denying any involvement, Islamabad called attempts to link Pakistan to the Pahalgam attack “frivolous” and vowed to respond to any Indian action.
“Any threat to Pakistan’s sovereignty and to the security of its people will be met with firm reciprocal measures in all domains,” a Pakistani statement said, after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a National Security Committee meeting with top military chiefs.
Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence in 1947, with both claiming the territory in full but governing separate portions of it.
Rebel groups have waged an insurgency in Indian-controlled Kashmir since 1989, demanding independence or a merger with Pakistan.
India’s air force and navy both carried out military exercises Thursday.
Indian police say the three gunmen are members of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba group, a UN-designated terrorist organization.
They offered a two million rupee ($23,500) bounty for information leading to each man’s arrest.
A day after the attack, New Delhi suspended a water-sharing treaty, announced the closure of the main land border crossing with Pakistan, downgraded diplomatic ties, and withdrew visas for Pakistanis.
In response, Islamabad on Thursday ordered the expulsion of Indian diplomats and military advisers, canceling visas for Indian nationals — with the exception of Sikh pilgrims — and closing the main border crossing from its side.
Pakistan also warned any attempt by India to stop the supply of water from the Indus River would be an “act of war.”
Pahalgam marks a dramatic shift in recent Kashmiri rebel attacks, which typically target Indian security forces.
Experts say that a military response may still be in the pipeline, with some speculating that it may come within days while others say weeks.
In 2019, a suicide attack killed 41 Indian troops in Kashmir and triggered Indian air strikes inside Pakistan, bringing the countries to the brink of all-out war.
“Whatever little land these terrorists have, it’s time to reduce it to dust,” Modi said on Thursday, after holding two minutes of silence in memory of those killed, all but one of whom was Indian.
India has taken its time to respond to past attacks.
The worst attack in recent years in Indian-run Kashmir was at Pulwama in 2019, when insurgents rammed a car packed with explosives into a police convoy, killing 40 and wounding 35.
Indian fighter jets carried out air strikes on Pakistani territory 12 days later.
Tuesday’s assault occurred as tourists enjoyed tranquil mountain views at the popular site at Pahalgam, when gunmen burst out of forests and raked crowds with automatic weapons.
Survivors told Indian media the gunmen targeted men and spared those who could give the Islamic declaration of faith.
Indian security forces have launched a vast manhunt for the attackers, with large numbers of people detained.
The attack has enraged Hindu nationalist groups, and students from Kashmir at institutions across India have reported experiencing harassment and intimidation.


Chinese official discusses security with delegation from Pakistan’s Balochistan

Chinese official discusses security with delegation from Pakistan’s Balochistan
Updated 26 May 2025
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Chinese official discusses security with delegation from Pakistan’s Balochistan

Chinese official discusses security with delegation from Pakistan’s Balochistan
  • Chinese nationals have been in crosshairs of separatist militants in Balochistan where China has a strategic port and mining interests
  • Beijing has been pushing Pakistan to allow its own security staff to provide protection to thousands of Chinese citizens working there

BEIJING: China’s Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Liu Bin met with a delegation from Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan on Monday, according to a ministry statement.

The two sides exchanged views on issues including security and cooperation between China and the province.

Chinese nationals have been in the crosshairs of separatist militants who believe Beijing is helping Pakistan exploit minerals in the underdeveloped province of Balochistan, where China has a strategic port and mining interests.

Beijing has been pushing Pakistan to allow its own security staff to provide protection to thousands of Chinese citizens working there, frustrated by the string of attacks on its citizens.

The push came after a bombing at the Karachi airport last October killed two Chinese engineers who were returning there to work at a power plant.


Pakistan says IMF approved $1 billion loan tranche ‘on merit’ despite Indian push for review

Pakistan says IMF approved $1 billion loan tranche ‘on merit’ despite Indian push for review
Updated 26 May 2025
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Pakistan says IMF approved $1 billion loan tranche ‘on merit’ despite Indian push for review

Pakistan says IMF approved $1 billion loan tranche ‘on merit’ despite Indian push for review
  • India has raised concerns with IMF on its loans to Pakistan after militant attack Delhi blamed on Islamabad
  • Last week, India announced plans to approach Financial Action Task Force to place Pakistan on grey list again

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Monday the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had approved a $1 billion disbursement for Pakistan on “merit” despite India leaving “no stone unturned” to convince the lender to review the payout.

Pakistan secured a $7 billion bailout program from the IMF last year and was granted a new $1.3 billion climate resilience loan in March. Earlier this month, Pakistan received the second tranche of special drawing rights worth $1,023 million from the IMF under the extended fund facility (EFF) program, bringing disbursements to $2 billion within the latest bailout. 

The program is critical to the $350 billion economy and Pakistan has said it has stabilized under the bailout that helped it stave off a default threat.

India raised concerns with the IMF on its loans to Pakistan, asking for a review earlier this month as tensions soared after an attack on Hindu tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Islamabad — an accusation it denies. The tensions erupted into military fighting as the two nuclear-armed nations launched missiles and drones deep into each other’s territories and exchanged gunfire on their de facto border, the Line of Control, until a ceasefire was announced on May 10. Nearly 70 people combined were killed on both sides of the border.

“Our armed forces and political leadership, the way they stood up against the [Indian] aggression, the entire nation has celebrated it, and rightly so,” Aurangzeb told reporters in Islamabad. 

“At the same time, there was no stone left unturned in terms of ensuring that the [IMF board] meeting doesn’t happen and if the meeting does happen, then these items are not on the agenda, whether it’s the second tranche [of $7 billion loan] under the EFF or the RSF [Resilience and Sustainability Facility] of $1.3 billion in terms of our climate resilient facility.”

The finance minister said he was thankful that the IMF went on to discuss and decide the Pakistan case “on merit.”

Last week, India also announced plans to approach the global financial watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), to place Pakistan on its grey list and said it would oppose a World Bank plan to focus $20 billion in lending to the cash-strapped nation over the coming decade on development issues like the impact of climate change as well as boosting private-sector growth.

Pakistan was removed from the FATF grey list in 2022, receiving a clean bill of health on terror financing, which significantly improved its standing with international lenders, crucial for its crisis-hit economy.
 


Iranian president calls for cooperation with Pakistan to combat militant activity on shared border 

Iranian president calls for cooperation with Pakistan to combat militant activity on shared border 
Updated 52 min 50 sec ago
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Iranian president calls for cooperation with Pakistan to combat militant activity on shared border 

Iranian president calls for cooperation with Pakistan to combat militant activity on shared border 
  • Iran and Pakistan have variously accused each other of not doing enough to stamp out militants allegedly sheltering across shared border
  • Last year, Iran launched strikes inside Pakistan’s border, saying it had destroyed terror bases, with Islamabad responding with strikes of its own 

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad and Tehran should increase cooperation to combat militant activity on their shared border, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday during a televised news conference with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. 

Sharif arrived in Iran on Monday after a visit to Istanbul as part of a regional diplomacy tour that will also include trips to Azerbaijan and Tajikistan. 

Relations between Iran and Pakistan have been strained in recent years, with both sides accusing each other of not doing enough to stamp out militants allegedly sheltering across their shared border.

“We believe that the joint borders between Iran and Pakistan should be free from any insecurity and free from the presence and activity of terrorist and criminal groups,” Pezeshkian said during a joint press conference with Sharif.

“In this regard, we believe we need to promote cooperation at the border areas to fight against those who are trying to create trouble.”

President of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian (R) and Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif shake hands after a joint press statement, at Sa'dabad Palace in Tehran on May 26, 2025. (PMO)

Last year, Iran launched strikes inside Pakistan’s border, saying it had destroyed two bases of Jaish al Adl, a Pakistan-based group that Tehran accuses of attacking Iranian security forces. Pakistan launched strikes on separatist militants inside Iran in response, saying it hit bases of the separatist Baloch Liberation Front and Baloch Liberation Army.

The militant groups operate in an area that includes Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan and Iran’s southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province. Both regions are restive, mineral-rich and largely underdeveloped and wracked by decades-long separatist insurgencies. 

The tit-for-tat conflict quickly de-escalated and the foreign minister of Iran visited Islamabad, with both nations saying they respected each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and would expand security cooperation in a bid to mend ties.

The most notable deal between the neighboring countries — a 2010 gas pipeline agreement from Iran’s South Fars field to Pakistan’s Balochistan and Sindh — also remains stalled.

During meetings on Monday, the two countries discussed the spectrum of bilateral ties. 

“We discussed expanding bilateral relations in different sectors including politics, economy, culture as well as international cooperation between the two countries,” Pezeshkian said at the joint press conference. 

In May, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi visited Pakistan to help ease tensions between Pakistan and India during the worst military confrontation in decades between the nuclear-armed neighbors. 


Pakistani PM makes peace offer to India during visit to Iran 

Pakistani PM makes peace offer to India during visit to Iran 
Updated 26 May 2025
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Pakistani PM makes peace offer to India during visit to Iran 

Pakistani PM makes peace offer to India during visit to Iran 
  • PM Sharif says ready to discuss water sharing, terrorism and Kashmir dispute if India was “serious”
  • PM arrived in Iran after visit to Turkiye as part of regional diplomacy tour following India standoff

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif made a peace offer to India during a visit to Tehran today, Monday, saying Islamabad was ready to hold talks on water sharing, countering terrorism and the Kashmir dispute if New Delhi was “serious.”

The two nuclear-armed nations have just emerged from their worst military conflict in decades earlier this month, when they launched missiles and drones deep into each other’s territories and exchanged gunfire on their de facto border, the Line of Control, until a ceasefire was announced on May 10. Nearly 70 people combined were killed on both sides of the border. 

India had hit Pakistan first, saying it targeted “terrorist infrastructure” in response to an April 22 militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi accused Islamabad of being behind — a charge it denies. After the attack, India also unilaterally suspended the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty that governs the sharing of river waters between the two neighbors. 

The Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir is claimed by both India and Pakistan and has been the focus of several wars and diplomatic stand-offs.

“We wanted peace, we want peace and we will work for peace in the region through talks, on the table, and resolve our outstanding issues,” Sharif said in a joint press conference with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Among the issues Pakistan wanted to discuss, the PM said, was the Kashmir conflict, which he said needed to be resolved according to several resolutions passed by the UN Security Council, including one which says a plebiscite should be held to determine the future of the mostly Muslim region of Kashmir.

“We are ready to talk for the sake of peace on water issues with our neighbor, we are ready to talk to promote trade and also counter terrorism if they are serious, but if they choose to remain the aggressor then we shall defend our country and territory,” Sharif said. 

“But if they accept my offer of peace, then we will show that we really want peace, seriously and sincerely.”

The Iranian president also welcomed the ceasefire established between Pakistan and India. 

“Undoubtedly, settling differences through dialogue and through a peaceful manner is the precondition for sustainable peace and development at the national, regional and international levels,” Pezeshkian said. 

“We believe that in the region, sustaining the sustainable security and trying to create friendly relations with our neighboring countries is among the common policies of Iran and Pakistan.”

REGIONAL DIPLOMACY TOUR

Sharif arrived in Iran today, Monday, after a visit to Turkiye as part of a regional diplomacy tour following the latest military standoff with India. 

Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araqchi had called for restraint and visited both nations following India’s first strikes on Pakistan on May 7, setting off nearly four days of fighting.

On Sunday, Sharif reached Turkiye as the first stop in the diplomacy tour to nations that were either supportive of Islamabad during the latest crisis with India, or that helped mediate the conflict. After Iran, he will go onwards to Tajikistan and Azerbaijan.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone with Sharif on May 7 to convey his solidarity after India first hit Pakistan and Azad Kashmir with missiles. Leaders from the two nations had several contacts subsequently and it is widely believed that Turkiye played an important role, besides the US, UAE and Saudi Arabia, in convincing India and Pakistan to back off and agree to a ceasefire. The two nations have strong ties, both being largely Muslim countries and sharing historical links.

Iran’s leadership also offered to mediate the conflict and there were several contacts between its foreign minister and the Pakistani PM and other leaders. 


Pakistan says border control ‘sovereign right’ as UNHCR flags at-risk Afghans amid expulsions

Pakistan says border control ‘sovereign right’ as UNHCR flags at-risk Afghans amid expulsions
Updated 26 May 2025
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Pakistan says border control ‘sovereign right’ as UNHCR flags at-risk Afghans amid expulsions

Pakistan says border control ‘sovereign right’ as UNHCR flags at-risk Afghans amid expulsions
  • Afghan journalists, activists, minorities, artists, ex-government workers among 110,000 declared at “high-risk”
  • Foreign office says over 44,000 Afghans approved for relocation to Western nations remain in Pakistan 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office said on Monday the country had a “sovereign right” to secure and regulate its borders, as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) identified around 110,000 Afghans who faced the risk of persecution at home if deported. 

Facing economic and security crises, Pakistan launched a repatriation drive targeting “illegal” foreigners in November 2023, with approximately 1.3 million Afghan refugees, both undocumented and those with Afghan Citizen Card holders, deported since. 

Pakistan has vowed to continue with the deportations until all “illegal” foreigners have been expelled. As of October 2023, there were over 4 million Afghans, registered and illegals, residing in Pakistan.

According to the latest UNHCR Resettlement Factsheet, some 110,000 refugees and asylum-seekers have high-risk profiles with increased international protection needs and vulnerabilities that could qualify them for resettlement in a third country. The agency has said all returns should be voluntary, dignified, and sustainable.

Speaking to Arab News on Monday, foreign office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said the illegal foreign repatriation plan (IFRP) was consistent with both Pakistan’s obligations under international law and its domestic legal framework. 

“The right to secure and regulate our borders is a sovereign right and an internationally recognized practice, which is by no means unique to Pakistan,” he said, adding that IFRP was neither an “indiscriminate nor an arbitrary measure,” and that Afghans would always be welcome to visit Pakistan through a proper visa regime, whether for business, tourism, or education.

Khan said Pakistan had urged all concerned nations to expedite the repatriation process for Afghans awaiting resettlement in third countries.

“On Afghan nationals awaiting evacuation to a third country, we are in touch with those countries and urged them to expedite the process of evacuation,” the FO spokesman said. 

“We are engaged with relevant UN bodies for the protection of people in vulnerable situations, and our legal safeguards and remedies remain functional and effective to address any complaints.”

UNHCR Pakistan spokesperson Qaiser Khan Afridi said approximately 600,000 Afghans had entered Pakistan following the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul and the withdrawal of US and allied forces in August 2021, with about 490,000 seeking asylum through UNHCR due to the absence of a national refugee law.

“We conducted a verification exercise a year ago and ... around 110,000 have high-risk profiles and qualify for resettlement in a third country,” Afridi told Arab News.

He said these were people who could not return to Afghanistan due to “vulnerabilities and safety concerns.”

“There are journalists, human rights activists, religious minorities, ethnic minorities, musicians, singers, or some people who have worked in previous governments, or they are female only families,” the UNHCR official added.

“We spoke with the Pakistani government, urging them not to send these people back to Afghanistan as their lives are at risk,” Afridi said, adding that the UN agency had also requested that the Pakistan government establish a mechanism to allow these individuals to live in the country temporarily.

According to the foreign office, over 44,000 Afghans approved for relocation to Western countries were still in Pakistan, awaiting resettlement.

The resettlement program has been active since the 1980s, with over 20,000 vulnerable refugees sent to third countries since.