ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s religious affairs ministry on Saturday asked intending pilgrims to get vaccinated against meningitis, flu and polio before leaving for Saudi Arabia to perform the annual Hajj pilgrimage.
The annual pilgrimage is expected to take place in June. Nearly 90,000 Pakistanis are expected to travel to Saudi Arabia under the government scheme, while 23,620 Pakistanis will perform Hajj through private tour operators this year.
The South Asian country started vaccinating intending Hajj pilgrims against meningitis, flu and polio this week, with arrangement for the vaccination of pilgrims at 11 Hajj camps across the country.
The religious affairs ministry said it was mandatory to get the vaccinations, which are free of charge, warning that all pilgrims have to get jabbed and receive a proof of vaccination before leaving for the Kingdom.
“Without this, entry into Saudi Arabia will not be possible,” it said in a statement.
“Pilgrims over 65 years of age must carry their old coronavirus vaccine card. In case of absence of the card, only pilgrims over 65 years of age should get the coronavirus vaccine from the nearest Hajj camp.”
Pakistan will launch Hajj flight operations from Apr. 29, with the first flight departing from the eastern city of Lahore.
While a precise number of pilgrims for Hajj 2025 is difficult to be determined in advance, projections suggest it will be a record-breaking year, with over 2.5 million pilgrims expected.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s military on Friday accused India of deliberately targeting civilians along the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border in the disputed Kashmir region, as tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors escalated sharply this week.
Fighting between the South Asian rivals intensified after India carried out strikes on multiple locations in Pakistan on Wednesday, in response to a deadly April 22 attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that left 26 tourists dead. New Delhi blamed Islamabad for the attack, a charge Pakistan has denied.
In the days since, Pakistan has claimed to have downed five Indian fighter jets and over 75 drones, while India said it had retaliated against Pakistani air and drone assaults by destroying an air defense system in Lahore.
The cross-border violence also had a devastating impact on civilians living along the LoC, with both sides trading heavy fire over the past two days.
“Pakistan has been receiving the Indian artillery shelling,” the military’s spokesperson, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, told Türkiye’s TRT World in an interview.
“Unfortunately, they are targeting, deliberately targeting, the civilians,” he continued. “Pakistan is now firing on the posts from where the [Indian] artillery and the military are firing. We are concentrating and putting our fire only on military targets.”
Chaudhry said Pakistan’s response was defensive and restrained, limited to small arms fire against Indian military positions.
He also denied New Delhi’s claims that Pakistan had launched large-scale drone or missile attacks across the international border, calling them “fabrications” designed to fuel a “media frenzy.”
“Since last night, they [India] have created a media blitz that Pakistan has launched drones, aircraft and a massive attack across the international border,” he said, adding: “In 21st century warfare, everything has an electronic signature. If there have been attacks with missiles from the Pakistani side, there has to be an electronic signature.”
Chaudhry further accused India of “gagging” international and domestic media as well as controlling digital platforms, saying it was using its new organizations to spread disinformation hour after hour.
The LoC has long been a flashpoint between India and Pakistan, both of which claim the disputed Kashmir region in full but control only parts of it. The latest hostilities mark one of the most serious flare-ups in decades.
KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) rebounded sharply on Friday, climbing over 3,500 points, as investor sentiment improved ahead of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board meeting and what some analysts described as easing tensions between Pakistan and India.
The benchmark KSE-100 index recovered 3,647.82 points, or 3.52 percent, closing at 107,541.45, after a historic plunge of 6,482 points on Thursday, the largest single-day drop in the index’s history, triggered by fears of an escalating conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
"The recovery was on account of optimism on IMF Executive Board meeting scheduled to consider Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program, where market expects smooth approval," Topline Market Review said after the end of trading. "Overall decline in cross border hostilities also provided stimulus to investor sentiment."
The EFF, a $7 billion loan program secured by Pakistan in September last year, is aimed at stabilizing the country's economy through structural reforms and fiscal consolidation.
While Pakistan’s authorities say macroeconomic indicators have improved in recent months, they view the IMF support as critical for sustaining gains and transitioning toward growth.
Some analysts also linked the improved investor confidence to what they described as a gradually easing geopolitical situation between India and Pakistan.
"Stocks staged sharp recovery as investor eye de-escalation in Pakistan-India tensions after US appeal for end to violence," Ahsan Mehanti, the Chief Executive Officer of Arif Habib Commodities, told Arab News.
Raza Jafri, the head of Intermarket Securities, said any de-escalation could extend the positive stock market trend.
"Institutional value buying, especially in blue-chip high dividend yielding stocks, saw the KSE100 rebound today," he added.
Tensions between India and Pakistan spiked this week after New Delhi launched missile strikes on multiple locations in Pakistan, blaming Islamabad for a deadly April 22 attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 tourists. Pakistan has denied involvement.
The crisis triggered a 12 percent decline in the Pakistani market from April 23 to May 8.
The geopolitical unrest posed a major challenge for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s efforts to stabilize the economy, which depends on a number of factors including increased foreign investment, exports and revenue generation.
KARACHI: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday lauded the contribution of overseas Pakistanis as workers’ remittances surged to a record $31.2 billion during the first ten months of the current fiscal year, with Saudi Arabia emerging as the top source of inflows.
According to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), remittances rose by 30.9 percent during July-April FY25 compared to $23.9 billion received in the same period last year.
In April alone, Pakistan received $3.2 billion, showing a 13.1 percent year-on-year increase. The inflows were mainly sourced from Saudi Arabia ($725.4 million), United Arab Emirates ($657.6 million), United Kingdom ($535.3 million) and the United States ($302.4 million).
“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed satisfaction over a 31 percent increase in remittances during the first 10 months of fiscal year 2025 compared to the previous year,” a statement issued by his office said.
“Remittances reaching a record level is a reflection of the confidence of overseas Pakistanis in government policies,” it quoted him as saying.
Remittances form a vital pillar of Pakistan’s external sector, helping stabilize the current account, fueling domestic consumption and easing the country’s reliance on external borrowing.
Earlier this year, in March, the SBP recorded an all-time monthly high of $4.1 billion in remittance inflows, driven by seasonal factors and improved formal channel usage.
Pakistan has focused on boosting exports and remittances in recent years as part of broader efforts to strengthen its external sector and address economic vulnerabilities.
The central bank has also revised its FY25 remittance projection upward from $36 billion to $38 billion, citing current trends.
ISLAMABAD: Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir arrived in Islamabad on Friday after a visit to New Delhi, as tensions between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan continue to escalate.
Al-Jubeir’s visit follows India’s military strikes inside Pakistan in response to a gun attack in the disputed region of Kashmir that left 26 tourists dead, with New Delhi blaming Islamabad for the incident, though Pakistani authorities repeatedly denied any involvement.
With the two archrivals teetering on the edge of a full-scale war, the United States announced on Thursday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had discussed regional de-escalation with Saudi officials. The same day, Al-Jubeir also made a surprise stop in New Delhi for talks with Indian officials.
“Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar will receive Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today,” said an official statement prior to the Saudi official’s arrival in Islamabad.
State media later broadcast visuals of Al-Jubeir disembarking from his aircraft in Islamabad.
According to Pakistan’s Geo News, the Saudi minister is expected to meet with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir during his visit.
While the Pakistani government has not officially disclosed the purpose of Al-Jubeir’s visit, it is anticipated that discussions will focus on the ongoing conflict between India and Pakistan, as well as other issues of mutual interest.
Saudi Arabia and Pakistan share close diplomatic and strategic relations.
The Kingdom has extended significant support to Pakistan during its prolonged economic challenges in recent years, including external financing and assistance with International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan programs.
Saudi Arabia has also contributed to global peacemaking efforts by hosting talks and mediating prisoner exchanges between Russia and Ukraine.
India’s clash with Pakistan sees use of Chinese missiles, French jets, Israeli drones, and more
Claims on exactly what was hit in latest standoff and where have differed widely, with neither side releasing many specific details
Making ongoing conflict even more confusing, the Internet has been “flooded with disinformation, false claims and multimedia
Updated 09 May 2025
AP
BANGKOK: India’s missile and bomb strikes on targets in Pakistan and Azad Kashmir have spiked tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, with Pakistan’s leader calling the attacks an act of war.
Claims on exactly what was hit and where have differed widely, with neither India nor Pakistan releasing many specific details.
Making the ongoing conflict even more confusing, the Internet has been “flooded with disinformation, false claims, and manipulated photos and videos,” the Soufan Center think tank said in a research note Friday.
“This information warfare is compounded by both sides’ commitment to save face,” it said.
Still, some information can be gleaned from official statements and paired with what is known to gain greater insight into the clash:
Pakistan says it shot down 5 Indian planes involved in the attack
People look at a fuel tank of an aircraft in Wuyan, near Srinagar, on May 7, 2025. (AFP)
Hours after India’s attack early Wednesday, in retaliation for last month’s massacre of tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir, Pakistan’s military spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif claimed that the Pakistan air force had shot down five Indian attack aircraft: three French-made Rafales, a Russian-made SU30MKI and a Russian-made MiG-29.
He said that Pakistan’s air force suffered no casualties, and that all of its aircraft returned safely to base.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif repeated the claim, saying that the Pakistan air force had the opportunity to shoot down 10 Indian planes, but exercised restraint and downed only the five that had fired on Pakistani targets.
He told Parliament that overall 80 Indian planes had been involved in the attack.
India, meantime, has not acknowledged any losses, though debris from three aircraft came down in at least three areas.
Did it happen that way?
India does have all three types of jets among its more-than 700 combat capable fighter aircraft, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Military Balance report.
All three aircraft are fighters with the capability of carrying bombs or missiles for ground attacks.
Pakistan and India have both said that their planes did not leave their home airspace, suggesting that if Pakistan’s account is accurate, rather than a dogfight in the skies over Kashmir, Pakistani pilots fired multiple air-to-air missiles over a long distance to take down Indian planes.
Presuming India fired back, even though Pakistan said none of its planes were hit, the aerial skirmish would have been quite the show. But there have been no eyewitness reports of it or video to emerge on social media.
What is known for sure is that Indian planes were in the air and attacked at least nine targets, and that debris from three has been found.
It’s also plausible that Pakistan used surface to air missiles to hit Indian planes — which the war in Ukraine has shown to be very effective and would not have meant risking any of its own planes.
Pakistan has a wide range of such missiles, primarily Chinese-made.
Test of Chinese tech?
People gather in front of the shattered glasses of a restaurant outside the Rawalpindi cricket stadium after an alleged drone was shot down in Rawalpindi on May 8, 2025. (AFP)
Pakistan’s air force includes American-made F-16s, the French Mirage, and the new Chinese-built J-10C, as well as the Chinese JF-17, which was developed jointly with Pakistan.
In addition to American air-to-air missiles, Pakistan also has several Chinese products in its arsenal, including the PL-12 and PL-15, both of which can be used to fire at targets beyond visual range.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told lawmakers it was the J-10C that shot down the Indian aircraft, raising the likelihood that Chinese-built missiles were also employed.
“It’s interesting that Pakistan is saying it is using Chinese jets that it has imported from China to shoot down Indian aircraft,” said Lisa Curtis, director of the Indo-Pacific security program at the Center for a New American Security, a Washington think tank.
In 2019, during the rivals’ previous military confrontation, “it was a Pakistani F-16 provided by the United States that was used to shoot down an Indian aircraft,” Curtis said in a conference call. “It’s interesting to see that Pakistan is relying more on its Chinese equipment than it did six years ago.”
The news convinced traders with shares in AVIC Chengdu Aircraft, which builds both the J-10C and J-17, to post large gains Wednesday and Thursday on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
Meanwhile, the stock of Dassault Aviation, the maker of the Rafale jet, which is among those Pakistan claims to have shot down, dropped sharply on Wednesday on the Paris Stock Exchange, though had recovered by close on Thursday.
What else is known?
India hasn’t talked about what assets were involved in the attacks. The Indian Defense Ministry said that the strikes targeted at least nine sites “where terrorist attacks against India have been planned.”
Pakistan, meantime, has said 31 civilians were killed, including women and children, in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and the country’s Punjab province, and that buildings hit included two mosques.
India did show video of eight of the strikes at a briefing on Wednesday. four in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir and four in Pakistan.
Both sides have talked about missile strikes, but it was clear from the video that bombs were also dropped on some targets, possibly from drones. In addition to claiming the five Indian aircraft shot down, Pakistan also said it downed an unspecified number of drones on Wednesday.
Indian officials said the strikes were precision attacks, and from the videos shown, it did appear that specific areas of installations were targeted with individual missiles or bombs, rather than widespread areas.
What happened next?
India sent multiple attack drones into Pakistan on Thursday, with Pakistan claiming to have shot down 29 of them.
The drones were identified as Israeli-made Harop, one of several in India’s inventory.
One drone damaged a military site near the city of Lahore and wounded four soldiers, and another hit the city of Rawalpindi, which is right next to the capital Islamabad., according to the Pakistani army.
India did not deny sending drones, but the Defense Ministry said its armed forces “targeted air defense radars and systems” in several places in Pakistan, including Lahore. It did not comment on the claims of 29 being shot down.
India similarly did not comment on Pakistani claims to have killed 50-60 soldiers in exchanges along the Line of Control, though it did say one of its soldiers was killed by shelling on Wednesday.
Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, meantime, denied Indian accusations that Pakistan had fired missiles toward the Indian city of Amritsar, saying in fact an Indian drone fell in the city.
