ISLAMABAD: Pakistani planning minister Asad Umar, who also heads the National Command and Control Center (NCOC) that oversees coronavirus mitigation efforts nationwide, said on Friday he had tested positive for COVID-19.
Pakistan recorded 3,179 new coronavirus cases countrywide over the last 24 hours as a second wave of the epidemic gathered momentum, data released on Saturday showed. The number of deaths in the last 24 hours stood at 87 bringing the total fatality figure to 9,250.
“Just got my covid test result and it is positive,” Umar said in a Twitter post. “Will be isolating at home.”
Just got my covid test result and it is positive. Will be isolating at home.
After a peak of over 6,800 daily infections in June, the number fell to a low of 213 in August, and remained below 700 for most of the last three months. But last month, the government announced that a second wave of the coronavirus had arrived, putting in place new guidelines, including mandatory face masks in public places and banning indoor dining at restaurants. Schools across the country have also been shut down, or switched to online classes, until mid-January.
Smart lockdowns were imposed in Karachi’s District Central and some neighborhoods in Peshawar this week following a surge in coronavirus cases.
Earlier this month, the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan ruled out a complete lockdown and decided to continue the smart lockdown policy with strict implementation of safety guidelines given by the NCOC.
The country’s last comprehensive lockdown was lifted in May.
India asks IMF to review loans to Pakistan, Indian government source says
The adviser to Pakistan’s finance minister says the IMF program is ‘well on track’
The soaring tensions between the two states has drawn calls for cooling tempers
Updated 9 sec ago
Reuters
NEW DELHI/KARACHI: India has asked the International Monetary Fund to review loans disbursed to Pakistan, an Indian government source told Reuters on Friday, as tensions between the South Asian neighbors escalated following a deadly attack in Kashmir.
India and Pakistan have announced a raft of measures after an attack on Hindu tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir last week killed 26 men and there is a fear that the latest crisis between the nuclear-armed rivals could spiral into a military conflict.
New Delhi has identified the three attackers, including two it says are Pakistani nationals, as “terrorists.” Islamabad has denied any role and called for a neutral investigation.
India suspended a critical river water sharing treaty and the two countries have closed their airspace to each other’s airlines.
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.
The program is critical to the $350 billion economy and Pakistan 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, a government source told Reuters without elaborating.
The IMF and India’s finance ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The adviser to Pakistan’s finance minister said the IMF program is “well on track.”
“The latest review has been done well and we are completely on track,” adviser Khurram Schehzad told Reuters, adding that Pakistan had very productive spring meetings with financial institutions in Washington.
“We did about 70 meetings ... interest has been very high for investing and supporting Pakistan as the economy turns around,” Schehzad said.
The soaring tensions between the two countries has drawn global attention and calls for cooling tempers.
Muslim-majority Kashmir is claimed in full by both Hindu-majority India and Islamic Pakistan, but each rules it in parts.
While New Delhi accuses Pakistan of backing an uprising in Indian Kashmir since 1989, Pakistan says it only offers diplomatic and moral support to a Kashmiri demand for self-determination.
KARACHI: Pakistan’s top generals on Friday blamed last month’s tourist shootings in Indian-administered Kashmir on New Delhi’s “governance failures” and its strategy of using such incidents for political gain, while warning Pakistani security forces were ready to respond to any attack on the country’s sovereignty, according to an official statement.
India blamed Pakistan for the April 22 attack in the scenic town of Pahalgam, in Kashmir’s Anantnag district, where gunmen killed 26 people in one of the deadliest assaults on civilians in nearly two decades.
Pakistan denied involvement, though tensions escalated as India expelled Pakistani diplomats and nationals, closed a key border crossing and suspended the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), which has governed the distribution of river waters between the two countries since 1960.
Pakistan’s top general gathered at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi earlier today to review the geo-strategic environment, with particular focus on the Pakistan-India standoff and the broader regional security situation, the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said.
“The Forum noted, with serious concern, India’s consistent pattern of exploitation of crises to achieve political and military objectives,” the ISPR said. “They have been following a predictable template — whereby internal governance failures are externalized.”
“These incidents have often coincided with unilateral moves by India to alter the status quo, as seen in 2019 when India similarly exploited the Pulwama incident to unilaterally alter the status quo of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir, through revocation of Article 370,” it added.
The 2019 Pulwama attack killed 40 Indian paramilitary personnel and was also blamed on Pakistan before New Delhi revoked the region’s special constitutional status to integrate it in the Indian union, a move repeatedly condemned by Islamabad.
The generals expressed concern that India was now using the Pahalgam shootings to undermine the IWT and “usurp Pakistan’s legitimate and inalienable water rights.”
The statement called the move a dangerous attempt to “weaponize water,” threatening the livelihoods of more than 240 million Pakistanis and increasing strategic instability in South Asia.
The commanders also voiced alarm over what they described as credible evidence of Indian military and intelligence involvement in orchestrating militant violence inside Pakistan.
They accused New Delhi of using the Kashmir attack to divert attention from its own domestic challenges and to provide “operational breathing space” to what they called “Indian terror proxies” targeting Pakistan.
While reaffirming Pakistan’s commitment to regional peace and stability, the generals warned that any attempt to impose conflict would be met with a “sure and decisive” response.
Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir praised the operational readiness and morale of Pakistan’s armed forces and emphasized the need for vigilance and proactive readiness across all fronts.
“Deliberate destabilization efforts by the Indian government will be confronted and defeated with resolve and clarity,” the ISPR said.
US vice president hopes Kashmir attack won’t spark wider conflict
JD Vance says Pakistan should deal with militants that ‘sometimes operate’ in its territory
US has expressed support for India after the April 22 attack without directly blaming Pakistan
Updated 02 May 2025
Reuters
WASHINGTON: US Vice President JD Vance said on Thursday Washington hoped Pakistan would cooperate with India to hunt down Pakistan-based militants, and that India’s response to the recent Islamist militant attack in India-administered Kashmir does not lead to a broader regional conflict.
“Our hope here is that India responds to this terrorist attack in a way that doesn’t lead to a broader regional conflict,” Vance said in an interview on Fox News’ “Special Report with Bret Baier” show.
“And we hope, frankly, that Pakistan, to the extent that they’re responsible, cooperates with India to make sure that the terrorists sometimes operating in their territory are hunted down and dealt with,” Vance added.
Vance’s comments are the closest the US government has come since the April 22 attack — in which 26 people were killed — to potentially linking Pakistan to extremism in India.
Top US leaders, including President Donald Trump, have condemned the attack, calling it “terror” and “unconscionable,” while expressing support for India without directly blaming Pakistan.
India is an important US partner as Washington aims to counter China’s rising influence. Pakistan remains Washington’s ally even as its importance diminished after the 2021 US withdrawal from neighboring Afghanistan.
In recent days, Washington urged India and Pakistan to work with each other to de-escalate tensions and arrive at a “responsible solution.”
India has blamed Pakistan for the attack. Islamabad denies responsibility and is calling for a neutral probe.
The US State Department has said it was in touch with the nuclear-armed Asian neighbors at multiple levels and Secretary of State Marco Rubio held calls on Wednesday with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Hindu nationalist Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to punish those responsible and Jaishankar has told Rubio that the perpetrators should be brought to justice. Pakistan says military action by India was imminent.
Muslim-majority Kashmir is claimed in full by both Hindu-majority India and Islamic Pakistan, with each controlling only part of it and having fought wars over it.
After the attack, India suspended a treaty regulating water-sharing, and both countries closed airspace to each other’s airlines. They also exchanged fire across their border.
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday sought the assistance of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait in de-escalating tensions with India over an attack that killed 26 tourists in the disputed Kashmir region, his office said.
New Delhi has accused Pakistan of backing one of the deadliest attacks in Indian-administered Kashmir in decades, though Islamabad has denied the allegation and suggested a neutral and credible international probe. The two nuclear-armed neighbors have also exchanged gunfire, traded diplomatic barbs, expelled each other’s citizens and closed their border as part of a series of punitive and reciprocal measures.
Sharif met with Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki, UAE Ambassador Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Salem Al-Zaabi and Kuwaiti Ambassador Nasser Abdulrahman Jasser during the day amid growing concerns of a wider regional conflict following potential Indian actions in response to the Pahalgam attack.
Sharif shared Pakistan’s perspective on recent developments in South Asia following the Kashmir incident, highlighting that his country has made significant sacrifices in its counter-terrorism efforts over the years, not only to safeguard itself but also to contribute to global security. He also rejected the “baseless Indian accusations” linking Islamabad to the April 22 attack.
“The prime minister said it was inconceivable for Pakistan to act in an irresponsible manner to jeopardize its achievements and derail the country from the path of economic progress,” the PM Office said in a statement. “He urged brotherly countries, including Saudi Arabia, to impress upon India to de-escalate and defuse tensions. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s desire for peace and stability in South Asia.”
During his conversation with the Middle Eastern envoys, the Pakistan premier reiterated his call for a transparent and neutral international investigation into the April 22 incident.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif meets UAE Ambassador Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Salem Al-Zaabi at the Prime Minister Office in Islamabad on May 2, 2025. (Photo courtesy: Handout/PMO)
He highlighted how Pakistan has been the biggest victim of militant violence and suffered 90,000 casualties with over $152 billion in economic losses.
Sharif said Pakistan would never take any action that could “imperil regional peace and security,” highlighting that his government was focused on consolidating the hard-earned economic gains of the past fifteen months that were achieved with the support of friendly countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
PM Sharif meets Kuwaiti ambassador, Nasser Abdulrahman Jasser, at the Prime Minister Office in Islamabad on May 2, 2025. (Photo courtesy: Handout/PMO)
The Saudi, UAE and Kuwaiti ambassadors thanked Sharif for sharing Pakistan’s stance and reaffirmed their support for maintaining regional peace and security, the PM Office added.
Since last week, top Pakistani leaders have also reached out to senior officials in China, Iran, Egypt and other countries regarding the recent South Asian developments.
The disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir is split between India and Pakistan and claimed by both in its entirety. The two countries have fought two wars and one limited conflict over the territory.
The United Nations has urged the two arch-rivals to talk to each other, while China, which shares a border with both India and Pakistan, and other countries have called on both sides to “exercise restraint.”
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) bounced back strongly on Friday as investor confidence returned amid calls from the United States and the United Nations for de-escalation of India-Pakistan tensions over Kashmir, traders and analysts said, with the market gaining more than 2,500 points during the intraday trade.
Relations between the neighbors have plummeted after India accused Pakistan of backing an attack in Kashmir that killed 26 tourists on April 22. Islamabad denies the accusation.
The benchmark KSE-100 index gained 2,787.36 points, or 2.5 percent and closed at 114,113.93 on Friday, compared to the previous day’s close of 111,326.57 points.
Stock analysts attributed the bullish sentiment to calls from the UN, US and other countries to de-escalate tensions between the two countries and offers to mediate the crisis.
“Stocks showed sharp recovery after the US and the UN urged Pakistan and India to defuse tensions,” Ahsan Mehanti, CEO of Arif Habib Group, told Arab News.
“Reports of 0.3 percent year-on-year Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation for April 25 likely to further ease SBP [State Bank of Pakistan] policy and expected receipt of IMF tranche [of $1 billion] this month played catalyst role in record bullish activity at PSX.”
Pakistan is currently navigating an economic recovery program under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program.
But tensions with India over Kashmir saw the Pakistani stock market shedding over 3,500 points on Wednesday. The US State Department said it was in contact with India and Pakistan, while State Secretary Marco Rubio on Wednesday held telephonic conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in a bid to ease tensions.
The UN has urged the arch-rivals to talk, while China, which shares its border with both India and Pakistan, this week repeated its call on both sides to “exercise restraint.”
Saudi Arabia has said Riyadh is trying to “prevent an escalation,” while Iran has offered to mediate the crisis.
“The developments over the weekend are likely to be closely watched and will dictate whether today’s bounce spills over into next week also,” Raza Jafri, head of research at Intermarket Securities, told Arab News.
