Page 31 - India Pakistan Relations

Highlights: BJP fields ex-diplomat Taranjit Sandhu from Amritsar, singer Hans Raj Hans from Faridkot, ex-Cong MP Preneet Kaur from Patiala for LS 2024

From Amit Shah's visit to Assam to US Federal Chair Jerome Powell's statement on interest rates and keeping an eye on inflation, track all the news from around the world here

Indian Navy frees Iranian vessel, rescues 23 Pakistan crew members

The Indian Navy has freed an Iranian fishing vessel that was hijacked by pirates and rescued its crew of 23 Pakistani nationals, following "intense coercive tactical measures" as part of an anti-piracy operation at sea that lasted for more than 12 hours, officials said. Following Friday's operation, specialist teams from the Navy undertook a thorough sanitisation and seaworthiness check of the fishing vessel in order to escort it to a safe area for resuming normal fishing activities, according to an official statement shared by a Navy spokesperson. The Navy said late on Friday evening that it was engaged in an operation to free the fishing vessel from pirates. Nine armed pirates had reportedly boarded the vessel. The hijacked vessel was intercepted on Thursday, the Navy said. "INS Sumedha intercepted FV 'Al Kambar' during early hours of Friday and was joined subsequently by the guided missile frigate INS Trishul," it said. "After more than 12 hours of intense coercive tactical ...

Indian Navy rescues hijacked Iranian fishing vessel, 23 Pak crew members

The Indian Navy on Friday rescued a hijacked Iranian fishing vessel and its crew of 23 Pakistani nationals, after more than 12 hours of "intense coercive tactical measures" as part of an anti-piracy operation at sea, officials said. Indian naval specialist teams are presently undertaking thorough sanitisation and seaworthiness checks of the fishing vessel in order to escort her to a safe area for resuming normal fishing activities, according to an official statement shared by the Navy's spokesperson. The Indian Navy late evening on Friday had said that it was engaged in an operation to rescue the hijacked fishing vessel, which had reportedly been boarded by nine armed pirates, and its crew at sea. The hijacked vessel was intercepted on Thursday, the Navy said. "INS Sumedha intercepted FV 'Al Kambar' during early hours of Friday and was joined subsequently by the guided missile frigate INS Trishul," it said. "After more than 12 hours of intense coercive tactical measures as per the

Reviewing proposal for trade with India, but no change in stance: Pakistan

Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar earlier said that his country's business community was interested in a review of the restrictions placed on trade with India

Cash-strapped Pakistan needs to get India onboard on trade matters

The problem is that Pakistan needs India far more than India needs Pakistan. The Indian economy is stable and India remains deeply reluctant to open its markets to other developing countries

Given political will, we can target beyond enemy lines: IAF chief

IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari on Wednesday said that "Balakot-like operations" have shown that given political will, aerospace power can be effectively carried out beyond enemy lines. In his address at a seminar on "Aerospace Power in Future Conflicts", he also said that as nations increasingly rely on space-based assets for building strategic advantage, "militarisation and weaponisation of space has become an inevitable reality". "Through the annals of human history, the skies have often been regarded as realms of wonder and exploration, where dreams take flight and boundaries dissolve into the vast blue expanse," he said. Yet, beneath this calmness lies a domain "fraught with competition where contest for aerial superiority" has shaped the destiny of many nations and decided the outcome of many wars, the chief of the Indian Air Force (IAF) said. "As we navigate these uncharted skies, air power being a key component of national power, would undoubtedly play a pivotal r

BSF Special DG Khurania reviews operational preparedness along LoC

Special Director General (SDG) of the BSF's Western Command, Yogesh Bahadur Khurania, concluded a five-day visit in the Kashmir valley which was aimed to assess the security situation and operational preparedness of the force along the Line of Control (LoC), an official said here on Saturday. The SDG of Western Command Chandigarh undertook a significant five-day visit to the Kashmir Frontier from March 18 to 22, a BSF spokesman said. The spokesman said the visit aimed to assess the security situation and operational preparedness along the LoC, reaffirming the commitment of the BSF to safeguard India's borders. The visit commenced with a detailed briefing by Inspector General, BSF Kashmir Frontier, Ashok Yadav, on the security situation on the LoC and hinterland, he said. The spokesman said the visit included an aerial reconnaissance and visits to forward defended localities, as well as to the Sector Headquarters (SHQ) BSF in Kupwara and Srinagar. At each location, the SDG engaged

India lambasts Pak, China over blocking proposals to blacklist terrorists

India has said that blocking evidence-based proposals in the UN Security Council to blacklist global terrorists without justification smacks of "double-speak" in dealing with the scourge, a veiled reference to China that has put holds on bids to sanction Pakistan-based terrorists. Let us turn to the subsidiary bodies inhabiting a subterranean world, with their own custom-made working methods and obscure practices which do not find any legal basis in the Charter or any of the Council's resolutions, India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj said. Kamboj was referring to the sanctions committee of the UN Security Council as she delivered India's statement at the open debate on Monday on the Working Methods of the 15-nation UN body. For instance, while we do get to know of the decisions of these committees on listing, the decisions on rejecting listing requests are not made public. This is indeed a disguised veto, but an even more impervious one that indeed ..

Grand Democratic Alliance in Pak announces boycott of presidential election

The Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) earlier on February 21 declared that they would begin a protest against the suspected rigging of polls

US wants India, Pak to have 'productive and peaceful relationship'

The US has said it wants India and Pakistan to have a "productive and peaceful relationship" but made it clear that the pace, scope, and character of any dialogue was a matter for the two neighbours to determine. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said this on Wednesday while responding to a question on Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulating the newly-elected Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on taking the oath of office for his second term. We, of course, welcome the prime minister's statement. The United States values its relationship with both India and Pakistan, and we want to see them have a productive and peaceful relationship, Miller said. We would welcome productive and peaceful talks between India and Pakistan, but the pace, scope, and character of any dialogue is a matter for India and Pakistan to determine, he said in response to another question. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Modi congratulated Sharif on taking oath as the prime minister of Pakistan. ..

Introspect on deserved global reputation as terrorism factory: India to Pak

India has slammed Pakistan as it raised the issue of Jammu and Kashmir at the UN Human Rights Council, saying it should introspect on its own appalling human rights record and deserved global reputation as the "world's terrorism factory". Under Secretary in India's Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva Jagpreet Kaur exercised the country's Right of Reply at the General debate at the 55th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council Monday after Pakistan, speaking on behalf of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), raked the issue of Jammu and Kashmir in its statement. We have taken the floor previously during this Session and conveyed our disinclination to waste the Council's time in responding to fallacious comments about India, by one particular delegation, which does so as they do not have anything constructive to contribute, Kaur said on Monday. Without naming Pakistan, Kaur said it is unfortunate that this country continues with its diatribe against India, including b

Cong's Mani Shankar Aiyar again calls Pak people 'biggest asset of India'

'The Pakistanis, from my experience, have been the people who perhaps overreact to the other side. If we are friendly, they are over-friendly, and if we are hostile, they get overly hostile' Aiyar s

Pak forces ready to safeguard territorial sovereignty: Army chief

Pakistan Army chief General Asim Munir on Monday said any aggression or violation of the country's territorial sovereignty will be responded to with full national resolve and military might. Pakistan Army is well versed with the full threat spectrum and is perpetually ready to respond effectively, Munir said, accusing India of targeting individuals in his country. During his visit to the Sarian Sector of Line of Control, he was briefed about the latest situation along the LOC. Pakistan had last month claimed that it had "credible evidence" of links between what it called "Indian agents" to the assassination of two Pakistani terrorists associated with the Jaish-e-Mohammed and the Lashkar-e-Taiba. India dismissed as "false and malicious" propaganda Pakistan's allegations linking Indian agents to the assassination of two Pakistani terrorists in Sialkot and Rawalkot last year. "It is Pakistan's latest attempt at peddling false and malicious anti-India propaganda," External Affairs ...

US evades question suggesting talks with Pak before latter struck Iran

The US on Thursday (local time) evaded a question on whether Pakistan held prior consultations with Washington before conducting retaliatory air strikes on Iran

Ahead of polls, leader of Imran's PTI shot dead in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

A leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Shah Khalid, was shot dead by unidentified armed men in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Swabi, The News International reported on Wednesday

26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed in Pak custody serving 78-year jail term: UNSC

The 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed is in the custody of Pakistan and serving a 78-year imprisonment sentence, the United Nations said in updated information

India asks Pakistan to extradite 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed, confirms MEA

India has asked Pakistan to extradite Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed, who is wanted in the country for various terror attacks, including the 2008 Mumbai terror strikes. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the request along with certain documents seeking the terrorist's extradition was sent to Islamabad recently. A request for extradition was sent recently, Bagchi said at his weekly media briefing while replying to a question. Saeed is a terrorist proscribed by the United Nations.

Don't be so narrow-minded: SC dismisses plea seeking ban on Pak artists

The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea seeking a complete ban on artistes from Pakistan to perform or work in India, and asked the petitioner not to be "so narrow-minded". A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti said it was not inclined to interfere with the Bombay High Court order which junked the plea filed by Faaiz Anwar Qureshi, who claims to be a cine worker and artiste. "You should not press this appeal. Do not be so narrow-minded," the bench said. The top court also refused the submission to expunge certain remarks made by the high court against the petitioner. The petition had sought the court's direction to the central government to impose a complete ban on Indian citizens, companies, firms and associations from employing or soliciting any work or performance, taking of any services, or entering into any association and so on with any Pakistani artiste, including its cine workers, singers, musicians, lyricists and technicians. The Bombay High Court had ...

Firing by Pak Rangers along IB continued for around 7 hrs, 2 injured: BSF

The BSF on Friday said the unprovoked firing by Pakistan Rangers along the International Border in Jammu targeting Indian posts and civilian areas continued for close to seven hours. In an official statement, the Border Security Force (BSF) said the Pakistan Rangers fired mortars and used heavy machine guns, leading to two non-fatal casualties. BSF Constable Basva Raj suffered minor splinter injuries in both hands due to shelling. A local, Rajni Devi of Arnia, suffered minor injuries, it said. The force said the Pakistani firing continued for close to seven hours, starting around 8 pm on Thursday and extending up to 2:45 am on Friday. "BSF continues to monitor the developments closely while assessing the situation and remains alert to respond as necessary to ensure the safety and security of the border and its residents," the force said. It said following the start of unprovoked firing, BSF troops retaliated and subsequently Pak Rangers extended their firing to target its border p

Tracking China's warships moving to engage with Pakistan Navy: Officials

The 45th APEF entered the Indian Ocean Region in the IOR in October and has been there since then