Indian | Pakistan

Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav sidestepped the no-handshake issue ahead of the Asia Cup rematch against Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday, choosing to focus instead on the cricket. The Group A clash between the fierce rivals last Sunday ended on a bitter note when Indian players refused to shake hands with their opponents. It was the first meeting between the regional neighbours since a four-day conflict in May left more than 70 people dead. While the match itself passed without incident, there was no shaking of hands between the captains at the toss or among the players at the end. Then, at the post-match ceremony, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav seemingly ‘politicised’ the victory by bringing up the Pahalgam terrorist attack in India-occupied Kashmir, over which the two countries fought a four-day military conflict in May, saying the victory was “a perfect gift” for his country. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) called for match referee Andy Pycroft’s immediate removal for a code of conduct “violation” and consid...

Pakistan has decided to prolong the closure of its airspace for Indian flights by another month.

Pakistan on Friday extended the airspace ban for Indian aircraft till October 24, according to a statement by the Pakistan Aviation Authority (PAA). Last month, the government extended the closure of its airspace to Indian aircr­aft for another month, until September 25, according to a NOTAM (notice to airmen) issued on August 22. New Delhi had accused Islamabad, without evidence, of orchestrating April’s deadly attack in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam. Pakistan had strongly denied the allegations and called for a neutral probe. As the situation turned into a military confrontation between the nuclear powers, it took American intervention for both sides to agree to a ceasefire. On April 24, Pakistan’s top brass had announced a series of measures, including the closure of its airspace to all India-owned or Indian-operated airlines with immediate effect, as it retaliated against New Delhi’s slew of aggressive measures against the country. PAA spokesperson Saifullah Khan confirmed to Dawn.com that the airspace clos...

ISLAMABAD: A top adviser to the country’s nuclear command and control body believes that Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal is what is keeping Indian military designs in check. Speaking at an event organised by the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI) on Tuesday, retired Lt Gen Khalid Ahmed Kidwai said that the country’s Full Spectrum Deterrence (FSD) — or minimum credible deterrence — was never compromised during the May standoff with India. Lt Gen Kidwai, an adviser to the country’s National Command Authority (NCA), also noted that the newly-formed Army Rocket Force Command (ARFC) will raise the nuclear threshold by providing an additional layer of strategic deterrence between conventional operations and the potential employment of nuclear forces. He explained that the ARFC has merely a response to modern battlefield needs, while the nuclear deterrent remains in place as the ultimate shield against India. A former head of the army’s Strategic Plans Division (SPD), Gen. Kidwai said that Pakistan’s FSD worked i...

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has dismissed the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) complaint seeking the removal of match referee Andy Pycroft from the ongoing Asia Cup over a dispute during the recent Pakistan-India match, Indian media outlets claimed on Tuesday. The PCB had yesterday lodged a complaint with the ICC against Pycroft over his alleged violations of rules pertaining to the “Spirit of Cricket“, with the board claiming that the referee had asked the Pakistan and India captains “not to shake hands at the time of the toss” for Sunday’s match. “Late last night, ICC had sent a reply to PCB stating that Pycroft won’t be removed and their plea has been rejected,” an unnamed ICC source told the Press Trust of India. However, Cricbuzz reported, “When contacted, the PCB has denied receiving any communication from the ICC.” The PCB has yet to issue an official statement on the development. The Times of India (TOI) reported it was “actually the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) officials on the ground who in...

Indian security forces killed a top Maoist commander and two other rebels in a gun battle on Monday, officials said, as the government intensifies efforts to crush the decades-long conflict. India is waging an all-out offensive against the last remaining traces of the Naxalite rebellion, named after the village in the foothills of the Himalayas where the Maoist-inspired guerrilla movement began nearly six decades ago. More than 12,000 rebels, soldiers and civilians have been killed since a handful of villagers rose up against their feudal lords there in 1967. The latest gun battle took place early on Monday in the mineral-rich eastern state of Jharkhand, India’s Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) said in a statement. The federal police described the operation as a “major breakthrough”. Three “top Naxal commanders” were killed in the fight, the CRPF said, including Sahdev Soren, who was part of the central committee of the Maoist organisation. Authorities had issued a bounty of around $113,000 for his capture...

NEW DELHI: Protesters in Nepal ousted the prime minister and set parliament ablaze over the government’s ban on social media and corruption allegations, but in India the violence is being misrepresented online as something else entirely: a religious uprising. While some claim that the demonstrations are a demand for a “Hindu state”, others say the opposite — that they are an attack on the faith. Fuelling the narrative are allegations from Indian broadcasters and politicians that rioters vandalised Nepal’s Pash­u­pa­ti­nath temple, a revered Hindu site. “Some rioters, hiding within the crowd of protesters, attempted to vandalise the temple, and it was only after this incident that the army was deployed,” an anchor for the right-wing Zee News channel said in a report featuring a clip of people climbing onto the temple’s gate and violently shaking it. Jivesh Mishra, a member of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Bihar state, which shares a border with Nepal, told reporters on Wednesday: “An attack on...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that New Delhi and Washington still shared “very positive” ties, after US President Donald Trump reaffirmed their personal friendship and downplayed his earlier remarks about “losing India” to China. The exchange comes amid strains after Washington imposed tariffs of up to 50 per cent on Indian imports, accusing New Dehli of fuelling Moscow’s deadly attacks on Ukraine by purchasing Russian oil. But Trump and Modi, both right-wing populists, have shared a strong bond since the US president’s first term. “Deeply appreciate and fully reciprocate President Trump’s sentiments and positive assessment of our ties,” Modi wrote on X, adding that India and the United States shared a “very positive and forward-looking comprehensive and global strategic partnership”. Earlier, Trump told reporters that he “will always be friends with Modi”. “India and the United States have a special relationship. There is nothing to worry about,” Trump said, downplaying his earlier rem...

Usman, holding dual Afghan and Indian citizenship, convicted of espionage and terrorism

Indian spin great Ravichandran Ashwin on Wednesday announced his retirement from the Indian Premier League and plans to play in other global franchise tournaments. The 38-year-old, a master off-spinner who quit international cricket in December during India’s Test tour of Australia, ends as the fifth-highest wicket-taker in the IPL with 187 scalps. He played for five IPL franchises and won the tournament with Chennai Super Kings in 2010 and 2011, where he also played in this year’s edition. “They say every ending will have a new start,” Ashwin wrote on social media. “My time as an IPL cricketer comes to a close today but my time as an explorer of the game around various leagues begins today.” The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) does not allow any current player in Indian international or domestic cricket to feature in overseas leagues. The feisty Ashwin finished his India career with 537 wickets in 106 Tests at an average of 24.00. He also played 116 one-day and 65 T20 internationals.

Indian exporters are bracing for a sharp decline in orders from the United States after trade talks collapsed and Washington confirmed that steep new tariffs on the South Asian nation’s goods would take effect from Wednesday, escalating tension between the strategic partners. An additional 25 per cent duty announced by President Donald Trump, confirmed in a notice by the Homeland Security Department, takes total tariffs to as much as 50pc, among Washington’s highest, in retaliation for New Delhi’s increased buying of Russian oil. “The government has no hope for any immediate relief or delay in US tariffs,” said a commerce ministry official, who sought anonymity for lack of authorisation to speak to the media. Exporters hit by tariffs would receive financial assistance and be encouraged to diversify to alternative markets such as China, Latin America and the Middle East, the official added. However, the commerce ministry did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the latest notice. The new duti...

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked the country’s lenders to increase scrutiny over funds flowing indirectly from Pakistan, according to a letter seen by Reuters that cited a “high risk” of such money being used to buy arms. Direct flows of funds from Pakistan to India are largely prohibited, with every transaction requiring the central bank’s approval. The directive, dated August 6, follows investigations by Indian agencies after the two neighbouring countries engaged in a fierce military conflict in May, triggered by India blaming Pakistan, without evidence, for the April 22 Pehalgam attack in occupied Kashmir. The RBI named Pakistan a “high risk” jurisdiction from an arms financing perspective and cited Indian investigations into arms financing, but did not go into detail about their findings. According to a government source with direct knowledge of the matter, Indian investigative authorities found that some Pakistani nationals had sent funds to India via other countries. India’s banking channels a...

Indian shares dropped in early trades on Tuesday and erased their gains for August after a US Homeland Security notification confirmed Washington will impose an additional 25 per cent tariff on all Indian-origin goods from Wednesday. The Nifty 50 and the BSE Sensex were down about 0.7pc each at 24,787 and 81,028.63 points, respectively, as of 10:39am IST (10:09am PKT). The benchmarks traded little changed for the month, on top of a nearly 3pc drop in July. Fifteen of the 16 major sectors traded lower on the day. The broader mid-caps and small-caps declined about 1pc each. Indian exports will face US duties of up to 50pc — among the highest imposed by Washington — after President Donald Trump announced extra tariffs as a punishment for New Delhi’s increased purchases of Russian oil earlier in August. “While this is sentimentally negative for the market, we do not expect deeper correction from hereon as it is not shocking news,” said Pankaj Pandey, head of retail research at ICICI Securities. Reliance Industrie...

Veteran batsman Cheteshwar Pujara dropped curtains on his illustrious India career on Sunday after playing 103 Tests but failing to win back his place in the last two years. The 37-year-old, who made his Test debut in 2010, last played for India in the 2023 World Test Championship final but has been active in domestic cricket as well as county cricket in England. “Wearing the Indian jersey, singing the anthem, and trying my best each time I stepped on the field — it’s impossible to put into words what it truly meant,” Pujara wrote on his social media pages. “But as they say, all good things must come to an end, and with immense gratitude I have decided to retire from all forms of Indian cricket. Thank you for all the love and support!” The cricketer’s message continued: “As a little boy from the small town of Rajkot, along with my parents, I set out to aim for the stars; and dreamt to be a part of the Indian cricket team. “Little did I know then that this game would give me so much — invaluable opportunities,...

Pakistan has extended the closure of its airspace to Indian aircraft until September 23, 2025.

Indian police have exhumed human remains in a temple town in Karnataka, officials said, as part of an investigation into allegations that hundreds of murder and rape victims were secretly buried there from around the mid-1990s. The probe centres on Dharmasthala, home to an 800-year-old temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva in the state of Karnataka and is drawing headlines in media nationwide. A former cleaner at the temple told police last month that he had been forced by superiors to dispose of hundreds of bodies over two decades, many of them women and girls showing signs of sexual assault. His allegations were made in a police complaint dated July 4 and seen by Reuters. The man, whose identity authorities have withheld for safety reasons, fled Dharmasthala in 2014 but said he was compelled to speak out now because of lingering guilt. “If the skeletons now exhumed receive respectful funeral rites, those tormented souls will find peace and my sense of guilt could also decrease,” he wrote in the complaint....

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar began talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in New Delhi on Monday and stressed that there could be positive momentum in ties between the neighbours only if there was peace on their border. Wang arrived in the Indian capital on Monday for a two-day visit during which he will hold the 24th round of border talks with Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and also meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “This (discussing border issues) is very important because the basis for any positive momentum in our ties is the ability to jointly maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas,” Jaishankar told Wang in his opening remarks. It is also important for the two countries to pull back their troops amassed along their disputed border in the western Himalayas since a deadly border clash in 2020, Jaishankar said. India’s foreign ministry said in a social media post that “important engagements of the India-China Special Representatives and on bilateral relations”...

Lahore - Speaker of the Punjab Assembly, Malik Ahmed Khan, has said that Pakistan crushed Indian arrogance within just four hours, and the world has acknowledged Pakistan’s military superiority over India.

LAHORE - Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has said that Pakistan has video footages of the six Indian aircraft shot down during a brief military confrontation between both the neighbouring states in May this year.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Sunday said that Pakistan has video footage of the six Indian aircraft shot down during a brief military confrontation between both nations in May. The military confrontation between India and Pakistan came in May as the former, without evidence, linked the Pahalgam attack to Islamabad, which strongly denied the allegations. Pakistan said it downed six Indian planes during the conflict, including advanced French-made Dassult Rafale jets. India’s highest-ranking general has also acknowledged that its forces suffered losses in the air, but denied losing six aircraft. Addressing a seminar in Lahore today, Naqvi said he was involved in several matters surrounding the war with India and was privy to several key pieces on information. “The army, air force, navy and government have all been acknowledged during the past month-and-a-half, but our intelligence agencies were doing important work behind the scenes,” he said. “Our institutions had information on India’s (plans) well ahead...