Last week, Information Minister Atta Tarar had said that 24-36 hours were important, fearing a possible strike by India. However, the time passed and there was no action by India.
India on Thursday night swiftly foiled Pakistan's attempts to hit various key Indian installations including military stations at Jammu, Pathankot and Udhampur with drones and missiles, the defence ministry said.
Pakistan Defence Minister Khwaja Asif has admitted the country's history of supporting, training and funding terrorist organisations as 'dirty work' for the West, a mistake for which he said Pakistan had suffered.
Tamil actor Ajith condemned the Pahalgam terror attack, expressing his heartbreak and offering prayers for the families of the victims.
India's recent missile strikes on nine terrorist locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), including Bahawalpur, mark a significant escalation in the long-standing military tensions between the two nations. This article provides a historical overview of the Indo-Pak military confrontations, tracing their roots back to the 1947 war following India's independence and the partition of the sub-continent, and highlighting key conflicts such as the 1965 war, the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, the 1999 Kargil War, the 2016 Uri attack, and the 2019 Pulwama attack.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that he "helped settle" the tensions between India and Pakistan and that he told the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours that America would do a "lot of trade" with them if they stopped the conflict.
While a giant, it's a nimble-footed one, and is growing at a speed that even some of its private sector peers find enviable.
Between FY18 and FY24, it doubled its balance sheet. Despite being a late entrant in some segments, it has been able to grab market share, observes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
India's fresh restrictions on limiting access to Bangladeshi exports appear to be in response to Dhaka denying certain value-added items from the Northeast to enter that country through the land transit points.
One Iranian woman, who is the wife of an Indian national has also been evacuated, he added.
In the wake of the recent hostilities, both sides have moved from weapons to words, with India dispatching several delegations to visit more than 30 capitals across the world. A similar effort by Pakistan is set to start on Jun 2.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday pledged to strengthen the strategic relationships with neighbouring countries by 'appropriately' managing differences and enhancing supply chain ties as China's tariff war with the United States escalated.
Top military officials from India and Pakistan highlighted their views at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, billed as Asia's premier defence forum, amid heightened tensions between the two sides following last month's military confrontation.
The UN Security Council will hold closed consultations on Monday on the situation between India and Pakistan after Islamabad sought an emergency meeting on the issue. Pakistan, which currently sits as a non-permanent member of the council, requested the meeting in light of rising tensions between the two countries following a terror attack in India. The meeting comes after India's foreign minister spoke with all council members except China and Pakistan, emphasizing the need to bring perpetrators of the attack to justice. The Pakistani envoy has argued that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir poses a threat to regional and international peace and security, justifying the need for a council discussion.
A total of 750 pilgrims have been selected through a computerised draw for the upcoming Kailash Manasarovar Yatra in Tibet, marking the resumption of the pilgrimage after a five-year gap. The Yatra's resumption is seen as an attempt to normalize India-China relations, which were strained by the eastern Ladakh border standoff. The pilgrimage will begin in June and continue until August, with pilgrims traveling in five batches via the Lipulekh route and ten batches via the Nathu La route. The selection process was deemed "fair, computer-generated, random, gender-balanced" by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), which organized the pilgrimage.
During the talks, the two sides appreciated the deepening of the defence ties as a key pillar of the strategic partnership and welcomed the creation of a Ministerial Committee on Defence Cooperation under the Strategic Partnership Council.
The UN Security Council could meet soon to discuss the situation between India and Pakistan, with the UNSC President expressing concern over rising tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors. The President, Ambassador Evangelos Sekeris of Greece, said a meeting would provide an opportunity to express views and help diffuse tensions. Sekeris also condemned terrorism in all its forms, including the recent attack in Pahalgam, and called for de-escalation and dialogue between India and Pakistan.
The Indian Embassy in Thailand, in coordination with its counterpart in Yangon, Myanmar, has repatriated 549 Indians after rescuing them from scam centers operating near the Myanmar-Thailand border. The nationals were lured with fake job offers and forced to work in scam centers. The Indian Embassy has advised citizens to verify credentials of foreign employers and check the antecedents of recruiting agents before accepting job offers.
The United States said it encourages 'direct communication' between India and Pakistan and commends Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for choosing the path of peace.
'Looking at how quickly the hostilities were escalating, the nuclear threshold did not seem that far.'
Finding solutions to address non-tariff barriers would be important for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union (EU) and both sides are actively working on resolving these issues, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday. He said the two sides are "pretty" close to finalising the talks for the proposed free trade pact.
Pakistan, in recent months, has been increasingly frustrated by the Taliban government's reluctance to eliminate the terrorist groups, including the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said he would move a resolution in the state assembly on Tuesday expressing solidarity with those living in the contentious boundary region with Karnataka.
UN Secretary-General Antnio Guterres expressed concern over the heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, calling for maximum restraint and urging both countries to step back from the brink. Guterres offered his "good offices" to both governments in the service of peace and condemned the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, emphasizing the need to bring those responsible to justice. He also stressed that a military confrontation would be detrimental and could easily spin out of control. His remarks came hours before a closed consultation of the UN Security Council on the matter, requested by Pakistan. The UN Secretary-General highlighted the need for de-escalation, diplomacy, and a renewed commitment to peace.
The nine targets struck under 'Operation Sindoor', four in Pakistan and five in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir, were chosen by the IAF after receiving intelligence inputs about terror camps operating under the guise of health centres to evade detection at these sites, officials said on Wednesday.
Pakistan is holding a high-level security meeting to formulate a response to India's suspension of the Indus Water Treaty and downgrading of diplomatic ties. The meeting, convened by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, will include the National Security Committee, three services chiefs, and key ministers. The move comes after India blamed Pakistan for a terror attack in Pahalgam, which Pakistan has denied. Diplomatic observers warn that the escalation could further strain relations between the two countries.
ISRO's Cartosat-3 satellite captured images of the damage caused by the 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar on March 28. The images show significant damage in Mandalay and Sagaing cities, including the complete collapse of the historic Ava (InnWa) Bridge near Inn Wa City. The earthquake also caused cracks and ground ruptures in the flood plains of the Irrawaddy River.
The foremost lesson for India today is to beef up its air defence to cater for multiple drone attacks. As seen in Operation Sindoor, we have come a long way, but there's room for getting better. We must develop a robust and almost impregnable air cover over ourselves, asserts IAF veteran Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd).
Chandragupta Maurya was the first king to establish an empire in India. He died a monk.
Chhonzin Angmo became the first visually-impaired woman from India to plant the Tricolour on Earth's highest mountain.
We have nothing to gain by raising our concerns internationally as our narrative has got entangled with several controversial concepts in the United Nations, asserts Ambassador T N Sreenivasan.
China on Monday criticised Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to Arunachal Pradesh, stating that it violated Chinese sovereignty over the area, a claim outrightly dismissed by India.
A police officer and his eight siblings, including five sisters, were deported to Pakistan on Wednesday despite a court order granting them temporary relief. The nine members of the extended family, who have been living in Jammu and Kashmir for generations, were among more than two dozen people, mostly from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), who were served deportation notices following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. The deportation has sparked outrage, with protests and appeals for intervention from the home minister and lieutenant governor. The family members claim they are not Pakistani nationals and have been living in the region for generations, presenting revenue records to support their claims. The court has ordered a detailed report on the case within two weeks and will hear it again on May 20.
'The Election Commission is conducting the National Register of Citizens in Bihar through the backdoor.'
In his first meeting with Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged concerns over the attacks on minorities, including Hindus and conveyed that any rhetoric that vitiated the environment was best avoided.
A former Bangladesh army officer and close aide of Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus has suggested that Dhaka should collaborate with China to occupy India's northeastern states if it attacks Pakistan in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. Bangladesh's interim government has distanced itself from the remarks made by Major General (Retd) ALM Fazlur Rahman on his social media account. Rahman's comments come amidst growing tensions between India and Bangladesh following Yunus' remarks in China about India's northeastern states being landlocked and needing Bangladesh's access to the ocean. These incidents have further strained relations between the two countries, with India withdrawing transhipment facilities granted to Bangladesh for exporting goods to the Middle East, Europe, and various other countries.
The rain and flood situation in northeastern states remained grim on Tuesday, with lakhs people affected in Assam, Mizoram and Manipur, even as the meteorological department predicted more rain in several parts of the region.
Just as Gandhiji's spinning wheel became a symbol of resistance, Indian travellers today can turn their passports into instruments of peaceful protest, argues Harsh Roongta.
'China could intentionally release excess water.' 'The North East is already flood-prone during the monsoon, and even a controlled release from Chinese dams (during the monsoon) could worsen flooding.'
In his media statement following talks with his Croatian counterpart Andrej Plenkovic, Modi said both leaders agree that "terrorism is an enemy of humanity" and is inimical to forces that believe in democracy.
The new supplies of the Igla-S air defence missiles have been received by the Indian Army a couple of weeks ago and are being provided to the forward formations for taking care of the threat from enemy fighter aircraft, choppers and drones on the borders.
