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Pakistan ‘concerned’ over deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, Delhi vows ‘loud and clear’ response

Members of Indian security personnel patrol on a highway leading to South Kashmir's Pahalgam, following a suspected militant attack, in Marhama village, in Kashmir, April 23, 2025. (REUTERS)
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Updated 23 April 2025
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Pakistan ‘concerned’ over deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, Delhi vows ‘loud and clear’ response

  • Twenty-six people were killed and 17 were injured when suspected militants opened fire at tourists in Jammu and Kashmir territory
  • Such attacks have historically strained ties between India and Pakistan, two nuclear-armed rivals with a long-standing dispute over Kashmir
Updated 23 April 2025
SAIMA SHABBIR & Shahjahan Khurram

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Wednesday it was “concerned” after 26 people were gunned down at a tourist site in Indian-administered Kashmir in the region’s deadliest attack on non-combatants in decades, with New Delhi vowing a “loud and clear” response. 

The shooting occurred Tuesday afternoon in Pahalgam, a popular resort town in the Anantnag district, where armed men emerged from forest cover and opened fire on crowds of mostly domestic tourists. A little-known militant group, the “Kashmir Resistance,” claimed responsibility for the attack in a social media message, saying more than 85,000 “outsiders” had been settled in the region after arriving as tourists, vowing violence against such settlers. 

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan since 1947, which they both claim fully but rule in part, and has been plagued by years of insurgent violence that New Delhi says is supported by Islamabad. Pakistan denies the accusations, saying it only provides diplomatic support to Kashmiris in their struggle for self-determination. 

Such attacks have historically strained ties between India and Pakistan. In 2019, a suicide bombing in Pulwama killed 40 Indian paramilitary personnel and triggered cross-border air strikes, pushing the neighbors to the brink of war.

“We are concerned at the loss of tourists’ lives in an attack in Anantnag district,” the Pakistani foreign office said in a statement. “We extend our condolences to the near ones of the deceased and wish the injured a speedy recovery.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who cut short a state visit to Saudi Arabia after the attack, called it an “heinous act” and pledged justice against the perpetrators.

“Those responsible and behind such an act will very soon hear our response, loud and clear,” Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said in a speech in New Delhi on Wednesday.

“We won’t just reach those people who carried out the attack. We will also reach out to those who planned this from behind the scenes on our land,” he said in what was widely seen as a veiled reference to Pakistan. 

“India’s government will take every step that may be necessary and appropriate,” he added.

On Wednesday, India’s army also reported killing two gunmen in a separate incident near the Line of Control, the de facto border separating the Pakistani and Indian sides of Kashmir, in Baramulla district, describing it as a foiled infiltration attempt.

A violent separatist insurgency has simmered in the Indian-administered part of Kashmir since the late 1980s, although militant violence had declined in recent years.

PARTITION AND ACCESSION
After partition of the subcontinent in 1947, Kashmir was expected to go to Pakistan, as other Muslim majority regions did. Its Hindu ruler wanted to stay independent but, faced with an invasion by Muslim tribesmen from Pakistan, acceded to India in October 1947 in return for help against the invaders.

GEOGRAPHY AND DEMOGRAPHICS
Kashmir ended up divided among Hindu-majority India, which governs the Kashmir Valley, Jammu, and Ladakh; Muslim-majority Pakistan, which controls Azad Kashmir (“Free Kashmir“) and the Northern Areas, and China, which holds Aksai Chin.

Indian-administered Kashmir has a population of around 7 million, of whom nearly 70 percent are Muslim.

ARTICLE 370
This provision of the Indian constitution which provided for partial autonomy for Jammu & Kashmir was drafted in 1947 by the then prime minister of the state, Sheikh Abdullah, and accepted by India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Although intended as temporary, it was included in India’s Constitution in 1949 by the constituent assembly.

REVOKING OF SPECIAL STATUS
In August 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government revoked Kashmir’s semi-autonomous status in a move it said would better integrate the region with the rest of the country. The state was reorganized into two federally administered union territories- Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. Pakistan strongly objected, downgrading diplomatic ties with India and cutting off trade. 

WARS AND MILITARY STANDOFFS
India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence, two of them over Kashmir, in 1947 and 1965. A third in 1971 led to the creation of Bangladesh. In 1999, the they clashed again in the Kargil region in what was described as an undeclared war. A UN-brokered ceasefire line, the Line of Control, now divides the region.

THE INSURGENCY
Many Muslims in Indian Kashmir have long resented what they see as heavy-handed rule by India. In 1989, an insurgency by Muslim separatists began. India poured troops into the region and tens of thousands of people have been killed.
India accuses Pakistan of arming and training militants, which Islamabad denies, saying it offers only moral and diplomatic support.

RECENT YEARS
Modi says his 2019 decision brought normalcy to Kashmir after decades of bloodshed. Violence has tapered off in recent years, according to Indian officials, with fewer large-scale attacks and rising tourist arrivals. Targeted killings of civilians and security forces, however, continued to be reported.

2024 ELECTIONS
In 2024, Jammu and Kashmir held its first local elections since the 2019 revocation of autonomy. Several newly elected lawmakers urged a partial restoration of Article 370. Key regional parties had boycotted or criticized the polls, saying the winners would not get any real political power.

With inputs from Reuters
 

Topics: Indian-administered Kashmir

Pakistan FY26 budget to continue fiscal consolidation, focus on IMF guidelines — analysis

Updated 7 sec ago
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Pakistan FY26 budget to continue fiscal consolidation, focus on IMF guidelines — analysis

  • Islamabad is currently holding budget talks with the IMF, likely to conclude this week
  • Government has committed to fiscal consolidation in FY26 budget to ensure debt sustainability
Updated 7 sec ago
Ismail Dilawar

KARACHI: Pakistan will continue fiscal consolidation, focus on IMF guidelines and bring untaxed and low tax areas into the tax net as it announces its federal budget for fiscal year 2025-26 next month, a top Pakistani brokerage house said in a budget review.

Islamabad is currently holding budget talks with the IMF, which earlier this month approved a loan program review for Pakistan, unlocking a $1 billion payment which the State Bank of Pakistan said had been received. A fresh $1.4 billion loan was also approved under the IMF’s climate resilience fund.

“We expect this budget to continue fiscal consolidation, focus on IMF guidelines and bring untaxed/low tax areas in tax net,” Topline Securities said in a budget review.

The brokerage house said the government had committed with the IMF to continue with fiscal consolidation in the FY26 budget to ensure debt sustainability.

“The government targets primary surplus of 1.6 percent of GDP (vs. 2.0-2.1 percent of GDP in FY25), a surplus for the third consecutive year after two decades. The government has also committed to use any windfall dividend expected from the central bank over and above 1 percent of GDP to retire debt,” the review said.

The analysis predicted the Federal Board of Revenue’s FY26 tax revenue growth target could be the lowest in six years.

“FBR revenue target is expected at Rs14.1-14.3 trillion, up 16-18 percent YoY, which will be the lowest percent growth in the last 6 years,” it said.

The FBR has achieved a five-year revenue Compound Annual Growth Rate of 25 percent from FY21-25.

“We believe, out of this required 16-18 percent growth, approximately 12 percent would be achieved through autonomous growth driven by real GDP growth of 3.6 percent and inflation of 7.7 percent. The remaining 4-5 percent growth translates into additional tax measures of Rs500-600 billion,” the analysis estimated.

Revenue measures expected include a change in the GST calculation price of sugar, the likely introduction of taxes on pension, retailers and wholesalers and a likely increase in federal excise duty on cigarettes, fertilizer products and pesticides by 500bps. A tax on the income of freelancers, vloggers and YouTubers is also expected.

“Government is expected to announce some relief measures namely (1) extension in exemption limit on salary or reduction of tax rate by 2.5 percent for all salary brackets, (2) rationalization of duties on trade, (3) likely housing finance subsidy, (4) inflation adjustment in minimum salary and unconditional cash transfer, and (5) some rationalization in super tax,” the analysis said.

It said the government would reportedly set a GDP growth target of 3.5-4.5 percent “while we expect GDP growth target for FY26 at 3.5-4.0 percent led by services.”

The analysis predicted the budget was likely to be neutral for the stock market in the short-term, neutral to positive for cement, steel, oil and gas, consumers, and independent power producers, and neutral for oil marketing firms, IT, banks, pharma, autos and textile.

Pakistan’s 37-month $7 billion IMF loan program, approved on Sept. 25, 2024, aims to build resilience and enable sustainable growth. Key priorities include entrenching macroeconomic sustainability through implementation of sound macro policies, including rebuilding international reserve buffers and broadening of the tax base; advancing reforms to strengthen competition and raise productivity and competitiveness; reforming state-owned enterprises and improving public service provision and energy sector viability; and building climate resilience.

Highlighting progress in Pakistani policies to stabilize the economy, the IMF said earlier this month when it approved the latest tranche that Pakistan’s fiscal performance had been strong, with a primary surplus of 2.0 percent of GDP achieved in the first half of FY25, keeping Pakistan on track to meet the end-FY25 target of 2.1 percent of GDP.

“Inflation fell to a historic low of 0.3 percent in April, and progress on disinflation and steadier domestic and external conditions, have allowed the State Bank of Pakistan to cut the policy rate by a total of 1100 bps since June 2025,” the IMF added.

“Gross reserves stood at $10.3 billion at end-April, up from $9.4 billion in August 2024, and are projected to reach $13.9 billion by end-June 2025 and continue to be rebuilt over the medium term.”

Topics: Pakistan IMF Talks Pakistan budget Pakistan Budget 2025-26

Pakistan’s second biggest city Lahore sizzles amid scorching heatwave

Updated 26 min 46 sec ago
Reuters
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Pakistan’s second biggest city Lahore sizzles amid scorching heatwave

  • Met Office warns of heatwave from May 20-24, temperatures to be 4-6 degrees above average in three main provinces
  • In June 2024, almost 700 people died in heatwave in less than a week, 2015 heatwave claimed over 2,000 lives in Karachi alone
Updated 26 min 46 sec ago
Reuters

LAHORE: Pakistan’s second biggest city, Lahore, sizzled under scorching heat this week as residents tried to stay hydrated in temperatures of 43 degrees Celsius (109 Fahrenheit).

The Pakistani Meteorological Office on Monday issued a heatwave alert saying temperatures would be four to six degrees above average in the Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan provinces from May 20-24.

The Met Office also advised people to avoid prolonged exposure to direct sunlight and stay hydrated.

“The heat is so intense in Lahore at the moment that it is difficult to go out. People should take caution, wear caps soaked in water, and they should drink plenty of water,” resident Wasif Khan said. 

“They should use sunglasses. There are juice stalls at different places, they can consume that. Anyway, they should protect themselves from heat.”

Pakistan experiences a long and hot summer season.

“The work cannot stop. We have to carry out our work in any circumstances,” resident Mohammad Shehzad said as he poured a bottle of cold water on his head.

“I am drinking juices and trying to remain under shade to protect myself from the heat. You know, the work goes on whether it is intense heat or it is very cold.”

The current heatwave comes amid increasingly erratic climate patterns across South Asia, with cities in Pakistan experiencing more frequent and intense heat waves in recent years, a trend climate experts link to global warming and climate change. 

A 2015 heatwave claimed over 2,000 lives in Karachi alone while floods in 2022 left more than 1,700 dead and over 33 million displaced nationwide.

In June 2024, almost 700 people died in a heat wave in less than a week, with most deaths recorded in the port city of Karachi and other cities of the southern province of Sindh, according to the Edhi Foundation charity.

Topics: Lahore heatwave Pakistan

PIA announces direct flights from Lahore to Paris from June 18

Updated 32 min 33 sec ago
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PIA announces direct flights from Lahore to Paris from June 18

  • PIA is already operating two weekly flights from Islamabad to Paris 
  • PIA resumed flights to Europe in January after 4.5-year-long ban
Updated 32 min 33 sec ago
NAIMAT KHAN

KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines is launching direct flights from Lahore to Paris, with the first flight taking off on June 18, the national carrier said in a statement on Thursday. 

PIA resumed flights to Europe in January after a four-and-a-half-year ban was lifted by EU regulators. A flight of the state-owned airline, plagued by a history of deadly crashes and a pilot license scandal, took off from Islamabad for Paris on Jan. 10, becoming the only carrier to offer a direct route to and from the European Union.

“PIA’s first flight from Lahore to Paris will take off on June 18,” the airline said. “A weekly flight from Lahore to Paris will take off directly on Wednesday.”

PIA is already operating two weekly flights from Islamabad to Paris and would “soon” launch flights to other cities in Europe, the airline said. 

Debt-ridden PIA was banned in June 2020 from flying to the EU, United Kingdom and the United States, a month after one of its Airbus A-320s plunged into a neighborhood of Karachi, killing nearly 100 people.

The disaster was attributed to human error by the pilots and air traffic control, and was followed by allegations that nearly a third of the licenses for PIA pilots were fake or dubious.

On November 29, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency announced it had lifted the ban on EU flights. 

PIA still remains barred from flying in the UK and the United States.

Topics: Pakistan International Airlines

Sifting through the rubble of latest Pakistan-India conflict

Updated 22 May 2025
AFP
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Sifting through the rubble of latest Pakistan-India conflict

  • Clearance teams are combing through fields for unexploded shells so residents can safely build back from rubble of their homes
  • Unexploded ordnance dating from conflicts past killed several children in 2021 and 2022 in Azad Kashmir
Updated 22 May 2025
AFP

NEELUM VALLEY, Pakistan: Two weeks after Pakistan and India’s most intense military clashes in decades, clearance teams along the border comb through fields for unexploded shells so residents can safely build back from the rubble of their homes.

Around 70 people, mostly Pakistanis, were killed in the four-day conflict that spread beyond divided Kashmir, over which the neighbors have fought three major wars.

The military confrontation — involving intense tit-for-tat drone, missile, aerial combat and artillery exchanges — came to an abrupt end after US President Donald Trump announced a surprise ceasefire, which is still holding.

On the Pakistan side of Kashmir, called Azad Kashmir, 500 buildings were damaged or destroyed, including nearly 50 in the picturesque Neelum Valley, where two people were killed.

“There is a possibility that there are unexploded shells still embedded in the ground,” said local official Muhammad Kamran, who has been helping clear educational institutions near the border.

Unexploded ordnance dating from conflicts past killed several children in 2021 and 2022 in Azad Kashmir.

Headmaster Muhammad Zubair follows a mine detector into a classroom of his high school in the valley where a writing on a whiteboard standing in the debris reads “we are brave” in English.

“Although the fighting has stopped, people still hold so much fear and anxiety,” he told AFP.

“Despite calling them back to school, children are not showing up.”

Abdul Rasheed, a power department official, said he worked “day and night” to repair power lines damaged by Indian firing.

Over the years, investment in roads has helped to create a modest tourism sector in the Neelum Valley, attracting Pakistanis who come to marvel at the Himalayan mountains.

Hotels reopened on Monday, but they remain deserted in the middle of peak season.

Alif Jan, 76, who has lived through multiple clashes between the two sides, is yet to call her grandchildren back to her border village after sending them away during the latest hostilities.

“It was a very difficult time. It was like doomsday had arrived,” she said.

The children were sent to Azad Kashmir’s main city of Muzaffarabad, usually safe but this time targeted with an Indian air strike.

Jan wants to be certain the fighting doesn’t resume and that she has enough to feed them before they eventually return.

In a schoolyard, she collects a 20-kilogram (45-pound) bag of flour, a can of oil, and some medicine from a local NGO.

Thousands of other families are still waiting to be relocated or compensated for damage.

“We have identified 5,000 families,” said Fawad Aslam, the program manager of local aid group.

“Our first priority is families who suffered direct damage, while the second priority is those who were forced to migrate — people who had to leave their homes and are now living in camps or temporary shelters.”

For 25-year-old Numan Butt whose brother was killed by shrapnel, the aid is little consolation.

“This conflict keeps coming upon us; this oppression is ongoing,” he told AFP.

“It is a good thing that they have agreed to peace, but the brother I have lost will never come back.”

Topics: Pakistan India Ties Pahalgam attack Kashmir Bombing Ceasefire

Pakistan will not get water over which India has rights, India PM Modi says

Updated 22 May 2025
Reuters
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Pakistan will not get water over which India has rights, India PM Modi says

  • India suspended the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty last month after a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir
  • Pakistan has denied involvement and this month engaged in the worst military confrontation with India in decades 
Updated 22 May 2025
Reuters

NEW DELHI: Pakistan will not get water from rivers over which India has rights, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday, a month after a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir led New Delhi to suspend a key river water-sharing treaty between the neighbors.

The suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, negotiated by the World Bank in 1960, was among a slew of measures announced by India against Pakistan last month after the April 22 attack that killed 26 men, mostly Hindu tourists.

New Delhi had said the attack was backed by Pakistan – an accusation Islamabad denied – and the nuclear-armed neighbors were involved in their worst military fighting in nearly three decades before agreeing to a ceasefire on May 10.

“Pakistan will have to pay a heavy price for every terrorist attack ... Pakistan’s army will pay it, Pakistan’s economy will pay it,” Modi said at a public event in the northwestern state of Rajasthan, which borders Pakistan.

The Indus treaty provides water for 80 percent of Pakistan’s farms from three rivers that flow from India but Pakistan’s finance minister said this month that its suspension was not going to have “any immediate impact.”

The ceasefire between the countries has largely held, with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar saying that there is no exchange of fire currently and “there has been some repositioning of forces accordingly.”

“If there are acts of the kind we saw on April 22, there will be a response, we will hit the terrorists,” Jaishankar told Dutch news outlet NOS.

“If the terrorists are in Pakistan, we will hit them where they are,” he added.

There was no immediate response from Pakistan to comments by Modi and Jaishankar.

India and Pakistan have shared a troubled relationship since they were carved out of British India in 1947, and have fought three wars, two of them over the Himalayan region of Kashmir, which they both claim in full but rule in part.

New Delhi also blames Pakistan for supporting Islamist separatists battling security forces in its part of Kashmir, but Islamabad denies the accusation.

The arch rivals have taken several measures against each other since the April attack in Kashmir, including suspension of trade, closure of land borders, and suspension of most visas.

Topics: Pakistan Narendra Modi Pakistan India Ties

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