India’s government detained at least 75 Kashmiri political leaders and activists to forestall political unrest after an alliance of Kashmir’s regional political parties won a local election, leaders and a police official said on Saturday.
The District Council election, concluded early this week, was the first such exercise since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government last year revoked the special status of the Muslim-majority, Indian-administered region. New Delhi then cracked down on the opposition and rounded up hundreds of people to preempt protests and violence.
The new detentions, including separatist leaders and members of the banned Jamat-e-Islami group, were for preventive custody, said a senior police official, who asked not to be identified in line with official policy.
India and Pakistan have claimed all of the Kashmir region since the partition of British-ruled India into Muslim Pakistan and Hindu-majority India in 1947. Two of the three wars they have fought have been over the Himalayan region.
The detentions undermine the verdict of the people, said Imran Nabi Dar, spokesman for the National Conference, a regional party and a key member of the alliance.
The alliance’s victory shows that Kashmiris have not accepted Modi’s decision to end Kashmir’s special status, said Omar Abdullah, a former chief minister and head of the National Conference.
After their release from lengthy detention, Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, chief of the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party, announced the alliance in October to seek a peaceful restoration of Kashmir’s autonomy.
India detains 75 in Kashmir after local election
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India detains 75 in Kashmir after local election
- The district council election was first such exercise since New Delhi revoked the special status of the Indian-administered region last year
- New detentions include separatist leaders and members of Jamat-e-Islami group
Pakistan welcomes appointment of UN special envoy to combat Islamophobia
- Former Spanish foreign minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos to serve in new role
- UN annually observes International Day to Combat Islamophobia on Mar. 15
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday welcomed the appointment of former Spanish foreign minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos as the UN’s special envoy to combat Islamophobia.
The new envoy was announced on Wednesday, with Moratinos reaffirming his “commitment to stand in solidarity with Muslim communities and to stand up against all forms of discrimination and bigotry.”
In 2022, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution sponsored by 60 Member-States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which designated Mar. 15 as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia.
The date was chosen as the anniversary of mass shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand, in which 51 people were killed during Friday prayers in 2019.
“Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad described the appointment of a special envoy as a major milestone in the OIC’s efforts to combat Islamophobia and promote tolerance, respect and peaceful coexistence,” a statement from the office of Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN said on Thursday.
“Together, we stand against faith-based hatred and discrimination,” the statement said, quoting Ahmad.
Moratinos has previously served as Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations.
The mandate of the Office of the Special Envoy on Combating Islamophobia includes monitoring, reporting and advising on rising Islamophobic trends globally and supporting the UN’s broader efforts against religious intolerance.
Deadly disease kills over 100 yaks in Pakistan’s northern Shimshal pasture in Hunza
- Local farmers report huge financial losses as many yaks in the area have fallen ill
- GB authorities say veterinary team has been sent with medicines to treat the animals
KHAPLU, Gilgit-Baltistan: Over 100 yaks have been killed after a mysterious disease broke out in the high-altitude pasture of Shimshal Pamir, local residents said on Wednesday, as officials confirmed the situation and said a medical team had been dispatched for rescue.
Located at 3,100 meters above sea level, Shimshal is the highest settlement in Pakistan’s northern Hunza region and the last village before the country’s border with China.
“A disease broke out in the pasture of Shimshal and so far more than 100 yaks were killed,” Azam Khan, the general secretary of the Shimshal Nature Trust (SNT), a community representative organization in the valley, told Arab News over the phone.
“Many yaks are ill,” he continued. “We farmers are facing huge economic losses. My two young yaks, worth Rs400,000 [$1,423], were also killed due to this disease.”
“Shimshal valley is home to more than 1,600 people,” he continued. “We rely on tourism and livestock farming to make ends meet. Yak raising is a favorite and profitable hobby for our villagers.”
Khan urged the government to take immediate measures to save the animals.
Naimat Karim, another farmer from the valley, said three of his yaks were killed by the disease.
“Agriculture and livestock farming are our profession. Out of five yaks, I have lost three … This is a financial setback,” he added.
Khuzaima Anwar, the deputy commissioner for Hunza district, confirmed the development, saying a veterinary medical team had been dispatched to the area.
“Our team is on its way to the Shimshal pasture,” he said. “They will diagnose the disease and treat the animals. Once the medical team returns, we will be in a better position to explain the situation.”
Speaking to Arab News, Dr. Shehzad Arif, a deputy director at the Gilgit-Baltistan Livestock and Dairy Development Department, said it would take at least three days for the team to reach the Shimshal pastures.
“We received information from the local community on May 5 about the death of yaks in the high-altitude pasture,” he said. “So we formed a team and dispatched them with essential medicines to the area the next day.”
“As far as our information goes, 108 yaks have died in the valley while 80 are ill,” he added.
He refused to speculate about the disease, saying the team would provide more accurate information.
“Yak is the backbone of the economy for the people living in the Karakorum-Himalaya mountain ranges of Gilgit-Baltistan,” Shakoor Ali, head of the Zoology Department at Public School Skardu, told Arab News.
“Yak is rightly known as the coconut of animals, as it provides food in the form of milk and meat, clothing from its hides and wool, and shelter from the tents made out of its hair. Almost all parts of the yak’s body have cultural, economic, medicinal, and religious value,” he continued, adding that Shimshal valley herders would face immense livelihood challenges without them.
Marco Rubio, Saudi FM discuss efforts to de-escalate India-Pakistan tensions
- World leaders, including Trump, have urged restraint and called for peaceful resolution of issues between both states
- India launched missile attacks inside Pakistan a day earlier, while Islamabad said it had shot down five fighter jets
ISLAMABAD: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud discussed efforts to de-escalate tensions between Pakistan and India as South Asia faces the risk of a major conflict, his office said on Thursday.
The development follows Indian missile strikes a day earlier that killed 31 people and injured 57 in different Pakistani cities, with New Delhi calling it a response to an April 22 attack in the disputed Kashmir region that left 26 tourists dead and which it blamed on Pakistan despite Islamabad’s repeated denials.
Pakistan said it shot down five Indian fighter jets and destroyed several border posts in the military clash that followed. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif termed the Indian missile attacks a “grave mistake” and warned that New Delhi “will have to face consequences.”
“The secretary and the foreign minister discussed regional security matters, economic engagement and efforts to de-escalate tensions between India and Pakistan,” US State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.
She added the US state secretary also commended the Saudi government for its efforts to help stabilize Syria, to stop the fighting in Sudan and continued engagement with Lebanon and the issues in the Red Sea.
World leaders including President Donald Trump on Wednesday urged restraint and pressed for a peaceful resolution between the nuclear-armed neighbors amid rising fears of a broader military confrontation.
Earlier on Thursday, Pakistan’s military said it had shot down 12 Israeli-made Harop drones launched by India at multiple locations, adding that the cross-border campaign was continuing and had left one civilian dead and four army officers injured.
India and Pakistan have fought multiple wars since independence over the disputed Himalayan region which they both claim in full but control in parts.
Pakistan army says has shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones launched by India
- Military says drones “neutralized” in Lahore, Gujranwala, Chakwal, Rawalpindi, Attock, Bahawalpur, Miano, Chhor and near Karachi
- Harop is standoff loitering munition attack weapon system designed to locate and precisely attack targets, manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries
KARACHI: The Pakistan military said on Thursday it had shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones launched by India at multiple locations, a day after Indian strikes in the country raised fears of a larger military conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
India said it struck nine “terrorist infrastructure” sites on Wednesday, some of them linked to an attack by militants that killed 26 in Indian-administered Kashmir on Apr. 22. Pakistan said 31 were killed in the Indian strikes and vowed to retaliate, subsequently saying it had shot down five Indian aircraft and a combat drone.
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, were seen in Islamabad as a major escalation.
Early on Thursday morning, reports started emerging from multiple Pakistani cities of explosions and firing. The military’s media wing subsequently confirmed that India was “attacking Pakistan with Israeli-made Harop drones in panic.”
The Harop is a standoff loitering munition attack weapon system designed to locate and precisely attack targets, manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries.
“So far, 25 Israeli-made Harop drones have been shot down by the Pakistani army’s soft kill (technical) and hard kill (weapons),” the army said in a statement. “The debris of Israeli-made Harop drones is being collected from different areas of Pakistan.”
In the context of military defense, hard kill refers to destroying or neutralizing an incoming threat, such as a missile or drone, by physically destroying it or its components. Soft kill, on the other hand, aims to defeat the threat by disrupting its guidance or communication signals, often using electronic countermeasures or decoys.
Drones had been “neutralized” in Lahore, Gujranwala, Chakwal, Rawalpindi, Attock, Bahawalpur, Miano, Chhor and near Karachi, military spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said in a separate televised statement.
One drone, he added, had managed to “partially” engage a military target near Lahore, the capital of Pakistan’s largest province of Punjab.
“Four men of the Pakistan Army have been injured in this attack near Lahore and partial damage to an equipment has occurred,” Chaudhry said.
“As we speak, the process of India sending across these Harop drones, this naked aggression, continues, and the armed forces are on a high degree of alert and neutralizing them.”
Earlier in the day, police reported a civilian casualty in the southern Sindh province, also confirmed by Chaudhry, when a drone crashed in the Sarfaraz Leghari village, located in Ghotki district.
“This morning, a drone fell over two villagers... killing one man and injuring another,” Senior Superintendent of Police Dr. Samiullah Soomro told Arab News over the phone, saying more details would be confirmed following a visit to the site.
Eyewitnesses in Ghotki said the drone hovered over the village before it was hit by Pakistani forces in the morning, following which it crashed near a canal.
“My brother Mukhtiar Ahmed, who was only 25, was martyred,” Jabbar Laghari, a local schoolteacher, said. “He leaves behind three children. My father was also injured.”
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 their de-facto Line of Control border in Kashmir.
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.
On Thursday, India warned that any Pakistan military action would be met with “a very, very firm response.”
“Our response was targeted and measured. It [is] not our intention to escalate the situation,” Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said in a speech to his visiting Iranian counterpart.
“However, if there are military attacks on us, there should be no doubt that it will be met with a very, very firm response.”
Jaishankar met Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who is visiting New Delhi days after visiting Pakistan, as Tehran seeks to mediate between the neighbors.
Araghchi, in a statement on his arrival in India, said that it was “natural that we want to reduce tensions” between India and Pakistan.
“We hope that the parties will exercise restraint to avoid an escalation of tensions in the region,” Araghchi said.
– With inputs from AFP
Pakistani and Indian NSAs established contact after New Delhi’s missile strike — Ishaq Dar
- The Pakistani deputy PM tells a foreign news outlet India’s actions are ‘not condonable’
- He does not disclose what the NSAs discussed, but Pakistan has vowed to avenge the attack
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani and Indian national security advisers established contact after New Delhi’s missile strikes on Pakistan killed at least 31 people, Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said on Wednesday, marking a rare official communication between the nuclear-armed rivals.
India said it launched the strikes targeting what it described as “terrorist infrastructure” inside Pakistan following a deadly assault on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam area, which it blamed on Pakistan despite Islamabad’s denials.
Pakistan said it shot down five Indian fighter jets and destroyed several border posts in the military clash that followed. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called the Indian missile attacks a “grave mistake” and warned that New Delhi “will have to face consequences.”
In an interview with TRT World, the Pakistani deputy premier said India had done something that “is not condonable.”
“[Dar] confirmed that both a Pakistani national security adviser and Indian national security adviser spoke to each other after last night’s Indian missile strikes in Pakistan, as well as Pakistani-administered Kashmir and then Pakistan’s response, in which Pakistan said that five Indian fighter jets were shot down,” a TRT correspondent in Islamabad reported after the interview.
“However, he did not provide further details, but some people interpret that given the fact that now both sides have established contacts at the level of national security advisers, this means that some form of effort is underway to de-escalate tensions,” he added.
Pakistan recently named Lt. Gen. Muhammad Asim Malik, the head of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), as its National Security Adviser, while his Indian counterpart is Ajit Doval.
The two countries have rarely maintained high-level official contacts in recent years. Pakistan downgraded diplomatic ties after India revoked the special constitutional status of the disputed Kashmir region in 2019 to integrate it with the rest of the Indian union.
The rivals, who have fought multiple wars over the Himalayan region they both claim in full but control in parts, also expelled each other’s diplomats following the recent Pahalgam attack.
It is not clear what the two NSAs discussed during their call, but Pakistan has vowed to retaliate after the missile strikes.
