Ready for war and peace, choice is yours, PM tells India
On May 10, Pakistan launched 'Operation Bunyan-um Marsoos' and deployed its Al-Fatah missile and targeted multiple Indian military installations. Pakistan destroyed BrahMos storage facilities at Beas and Nagrota and S-400 battery systems at Adampur and Bhuj were also attacked and effectively neutralised by Pakistan Air Force.
During his visit to Pasrur Cantonment near Sialkot on Wednesday, prime minister was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar Sidhu, federal ministers Ahsan Iqbal and Attaullah Tarar, Corps Commander Sialkot, and senior civil and military officials.
Shahbaz met with officers and soldiers actively engaged in the military operation. 'The nation is proud of your dedication and sacrifice,' the prime minister told troops during his interaction, as per a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office.
The prime minister also announced plans to visit various air and naval bases in the coming days to meet with personnel from the Pakistan Air Force and Pakistan Navy, in a show of support for all branches of the armed forces.
During his visit, Shehbaz said it is up to India to choose war or peace in relations with Pakistan. 'We are ready for war and peace. Choice is yours,' he said.
Prime minister also warned India from stopping water flow after it held the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance. 'If you stop our water, then it is the red line. Water is our right. The brave, valiant forces will fight for our right,' he said.
The prime minister said the Kashmir issue should be resolved as per the United Nations resolutions and then talks will be held on trade. He said trade talks cannot be held in isolation but rather through a comprehensive dialogue.
He said Pakistan has called for a complete and partial investigation into the Pahalgam attack and agreed to fully cooperate, but India responded by attacking in the dark of night and received a befitting reply.
He concluded by saying that Pakistan's martyrs have always been a source of pride for the nation. 'The nation shall eternally remain indebted to them.'
Also during the day, PM Shahbaz held a call with UN chief Antonio Guterres in which 'he expressed concerns over the continued provocative and inflammatory remarks by Indian leadership, as a threat to the fragile regional peace,' his office said in a statement.
Pakistan's foreign ministry said that it rejected Indian Prime Ministers Narendra Modi's 'provocative and inflammatory assertions' and his 'propensity to fabricate misleading narratives to justify aggression.'
'Make no mistake, we will closely monitor India's actions and behaviour in this regard in the coming days. We also urge the international community to do the same,' it added in a statement.
Earlier, Pakistan returned a captured border guard to India, in a fresh sign of detente after a ceasefire ended four days of conflict between the two neighbours.
The guard was captured a day after an April attack in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 26 people and sparked tit-for-tat missile, drone and fighter jet attacks.
'Purnam Kumar Shaw, who had been in the custody of Pakistan Rangers since 23 April 2025, was handed over to India,' India's Border Security Force said in a statement. The handover was 'conducted peacefully and in accordance with established protocols,' it added. 'I am very happy today,' Shaw's wife Rajani, who is pregnant, told reporters following the announcement. She had earlier told the Indian Express newspaper that before the ceasefire she had 'lost all hope.'
Pakistan's army announced on Wednesday a new death toll from the fighting, saying India's 'unprovoked and reprehensible dastardly attacks' killed 40 civilians, half of them women and children. It also said 13 military service members had been killed during operations. India has said that 15 civilians and five soldiers died on its side.
Agencies
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Gulf Today
7 hours ago
- Gulf Today
India's Modi announces credit worth $565 million to Maldives
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced a $565-million line of credit to the Maldives during a visit to the Indian Ocean archipelago, as the two countries launched formal talks for a free-trade agreement. Modi is visiting the Maldives, known for its upmarket tourist resorts, to mark the 60th anniversary of its independence and diplomatic relations between the two countries. The announcement came during Modi's joint media statement with Maldives' President Mohamed Muizzu. The two-day visit is crucial to India's ambition to control the seas and shipping routes of the Indian Ocean in a race with its regional rival China. It also marks the further easing of diplomatic tensions between the two nations that followed the election of pro-China Muizzu in 2023. Regional powers India and China compete for influence in the archipelago nation, which is strategically located in the Indian Ocean. On Friday, Modi witnessed the exchange of agreements to cooperate in sectors such as fisheries, health, tourism and digital development. He also formally handed dozens of heavy vehicles to the Maldives' defense forces. 'India is Maldives' closest neighbor. Maldives holds an important place in both India's neighborhood- first policy and ocean vision,' Modi said. 'India is also proud to be Maldives' most trusted friend.' The line of credit will be used for 'infrastructure and development projects in line with the priorities of the people of the Maldives,' he said. 'India will continue to support Maldives in developing its defence capabilities. Peace, stability and prosperity in the Indian Ocean region is our common goal,' he added. During Muizzu's visit to India last October, India announced financial support to the cash-strapped Maldives in the form of a $100-million treasury bills rollover and the countries signed a $400-million currency swap agreement. Tensions between India and the Maldives grew since Muizzu, who favored closer ties with China, was elected in 2023 after defeating India-friendly incumbent Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. Leading up to the election, Muizzu had promised to expel Indian soldiers deployed in the Maldives to help with humanitarian assistance. Last year New Delhi replaced dozens of its soldiers in the Maldives with civilian experts. Measure by Modi to promote tourism in India's Lakshadweep archipelago, off the southwestern coast of the Indian mainland, also sparked anger from Maldivians, who saw it as a move to lure Indian tourists away from their country. Indian celebrities then called for a tourism boycott to the Maldives. The dispute deepened when Muizzu visited China ahead of India in January last year, a move seen by New Delhi as a snub. On his return, Muizzu spelled out plans to rid his tiny nation of dependence on India for health facilities, medicines and import of staples. Relations started to improve after Muizzu attended Modi's swearing-in ceremony for a third five-year term. Muizzu has toned down his anti-Indian rhetoric, and official contacts with New Delhi have intensified as concerns grew about Maldives' economy. India has long been a critical provider of development assistance to the Maldives. Meanwhile, the Maldives joined China's Belt and Road Initiative in 2013 to build ports and highways and expand trade as well as China's influence across Asia, Africa, and Europe. Modi will attend the Maldives' 60th independence anniversary from being a British protectorate on Saturday. Separately, the Reserve Bank of India has 'won the battle against inflation' but the war is ongoing as price stability remains the central goal, Governor Sanjay Malhotra said during a fireside chat at a Financial Express event on Friday. The RBI delivered a larger-than-expected 50 basis point rate cut at its June policy review but shifted its stance to 'neutral,' suggesting limited room for further easing. However, with retail inflation falling to a six-year low and likely to hit a record low in July, calls have grown for at least one more rate cut this year. Many analysts argue the sharp disinflation also points to weakening demand in the economy. Malhotra said monetary policy being forward looking, will place greater focus on the outlook for growth and inflation, rather than current levels when the policy panel meets on Aug. 6. The change in stance to 'neutral' did not mean a reversal from the easing of policy, he said. 'We have the flexibility to move up, down or pause. Yes, it does mean, the bar for further easing is higher than it would have been if it (stance) was accommodative,' he added. Monetary policy transmission has quickened due to rate cuts and will help in supporting economic growth as overall flow of funds to the industry and economy is improving, Malhotra said. Further monetary policy measures would depend on the requirement but the central bank has enough ammunition in its armory to use as and when required, he added. Agencies
Gulf Today
7 hours ago
- Gulf Today
School roof collapse in India kills 7 students, injures 21
The roof of a government middle school building collapsed on Friday in India's western state of Rajasthan, killing seven children and injuring at least 21, a senior police official said. The collapse occurred soon after the students had reached their classrooms and were about to start the school assembly, said police official Amit Kumar. It is still unclear what caused the roof to collapse. Frantic parents, teachers, and locals immediately joined the rescue effort, sifting through mounds of debris to pull out the trapped students, local media reported. Local official Ajay Singh said the accident will be investigated, according to the Press Trust of India. He added that while the district administration had recently requested a list of dilapidated school buildings from the education department, this school was not on it. The school, located in Piplod village of Jhalawar district, has students studying up to eighth grade, or what is called a middle school in India. A total of around 35 students were present when the roof collapsed. All seven fatalities were students from seventh and eighth grade, Kumar said. The injured have been transported to two local hospitals for treatment. The office of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi lamented the accident in a social media post, calling it "tragic" and "deeply saddening.' "My thoughts are with the affected students and their families in this difficult hour," the statement read, adding that authorities are providing "all possible assistance." Associated Press
Arabian Post
19 hours ago
- Arabian Post
Another Indian Origin Left Democrat Saikat Chakrabarti Is Creating Waves In U.S.
By Nitya Chakraborty The Left wing section in the Democratic Party in the United States of America led by Senator Bernie Sanders is on upswing even though the party establishment seems clueless to deal effectively with the challenge thrown by the second term President Donald Trump to the very existence of its rival party. After the stunning victory of the 33 year old Zohran Mamdani in the Democratic primary for the New York mayoral election in November this year, another Indian origin Democrat Saikat Chakrabarti is creating waves in the American politics by announcing his intention to stand against the former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the veteran of the Democratic Party establishment in the November 2026 midterm elections. This has created furore in both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party leadership as Saikat carries a background of a successful activist who has been playing an important role in transforming the Democratic Party since the 2016 presidential elections in which he was associated with Bernie Sanders's campaign .Sanders could not win the nomination butSaikat was noted for his expertise in leading the election campaign. Starting with Bernie Sanders's 2016 presidential run, Saikat Chakrabarti has played an important role in the left-wing insurgency that has recently attempted to remake the Democratic Party. After working on Sanders's 2016 campaign, Saikat managed Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's (AOC) successful 2018 challenge against Joe Crowley. He went on to serve as her chief of staff, launching her Green New Deal proposal. Now Saikat is running for Congress himself, challenging former House speaker Nancy Pelosi, in California's 11th Congressional District. Saikat says that the Democrats' embarrassing loss to Trump last year inspired him to run. He hopes to build a national movement around an ambitious program called the 'Mission for America' that aims to transform the US economy through aggressive government planning and investment — a kind of spiritual successor to the Green New Deal. In a recent interview to the American left magazine Jacobin, Saikat said, back in the 1970s, America felt unstoppable. We had just put a man on the moon, built the interstate highway system, had decades of rising living standards and wages, and were including more and more people in society through the civil rights, gay rights, women's rights, and other movements. We were doing so much that we actually had immigration offices all over the world that were recruiting millions of people to come help build this country. That's how my parents got here. One of my dad's friends took him to one of these offices in Calcutta where a nice staffer pitched him on the American Dream and got him to apply for a visa right there on the spot. Elaborating on his immigrant background , Saikat says 'My parents came here with less than $20. They grew up poor in India, especially my father. After being displaced during Partition, his family of ten squatted in an abandoned house before 'upgrading' to a one-bedroom apartment. He often went days without food. But he was lucky to have a solid education because my grandfather was a teacher who ended up starting the local public school for all the neighbourhood kids. Saikat said ,In the United States, my dad was able to get a job within a week of arriving despite having no connections, and, on a single income, was able to afford a solid, middle-class life for me and my family. Growing up, I had everything I needed: a roof over my head, food on the table, and a great public school education in Fort Worth, Texas. He said 'My parents' story has always stuck with me precisely because of how common it actually was. Millions of immigrants who came here during that time had a similar story. So did hundreds of millions of Americans who, starting with the New Deal and all the way to the 1970s, accomplished one of the biggest leaps in incomes and living standards that humanity has ever seen. I've always been awed by that accomplishment, and the core driver of my politics and work over the last decade has been the belief that we can do it again. About his bringing up in USA, Saikat said 'I was pretty apolitical, though, growing up and through college. After college, I came out to San Francisco the first chance I got to work in tech because I naively believed tech would be a way to fix the biggest problems in the world. After working in tech for a few years though, I knew the answers didn't lie there. So I quit. It feels cheesy to say this today, but I actually made a list of the problems I wanted to help do something about. It said: inequality, poverty, and climate change. Then Bernie Sanders announced his run for president in 2016 talking about exactly those things, and he started filling stadiums with people excited for something new. So I joined!' Saikat got name as he was the prime mover of the Green New Deal was proposed by the leftwing congress members According to Saikat, the Green New Deal was our vision of what Democrats should stand for: a plan to invest in upgrading and developing our economy by tackling climate change, creating millions of high-wage jobs in the process. 'While Alexandra, Corbin, I, and others were working at Justice Democrats and then on AOC's race, Zack Exley was busy running New Consensus, the think tank he and I had started a few months after Justice Democrats. We had looked around for a think tank that was working on the details of how to radically reverse the decline of the working class while building a clean economy. We didn't find any (though many economists were talking about the need to do this), so we started one. The Green New Deal came out of the work Zack and others did at New Consensus.' Once AOC won, Saikat and his team had a three-pronged approach to launching the Green New Deal. He worked on the inside to build political support, while the Sunrise Movement, whose political team he had met through campaign work, worked on the outside to mount a pressure campaign on representatives and presidential candidates. At the same time, New Consensus worked to flesh out the ideas in the Green New Deal and socialize them with academics and journalists (which was a big reason people like Joseph Stiglitz and Paul Krugman came out in favour of it when it launched). Saikat said that experience made him realize how powerful it can be to have people on the inside working with a movement on the outside who are all aligned on a vision for the country. And he learned that it is easier than we think to get new ideas to go somewhere in DC, especially right now when people are hungry for some vision of a future. If we could do the Green New Deal with just one member of Congress, what could be possible with dozens or hundreds of Congress members acting with real purpose and urgency?, he said. Saikat left AOC's office at the end of 2019 after ruffling a few too many feathers in DC and moved back to San Francisco. Since then, he has been working on the Mission for America at New Consensus, which is a successor to the Green New Deal . Saikat said that his plan when he left Washington DC and moved back to San Francisco was to continue working at New Consensus and continue supporting political candidates who rejected the corporate status quo in favour of championing working-class people. I wasn't looking to be a congressional candidate myself. But this last election changed his mind. He thought the fact that Trump made more inroads into the traditional working-class, multiracial Democratic base than any GOP presidential candidate would be a wake-up call for Democrats — especially since they couldn't dismiss his victory as a fluke like they did the first time around. He thought Democrats might take the threat of Trump and the authoritarian right seriously, since they repeatedly told us during the election that a Trump win would slide the US into authoritarianism and fascism. But then he saw how Democratic leaders actually acted in the face of a Trump win and Trump's brazen attempts to consolidate power. He heard Nancy Pelosi interviewed after this election saying Democrats did nothing wrong and didn't need to change. According to this young Democrat, Democrats need a new economic vision, and they need new leadership. Here in San Francisco, even those who have supported Pelosi for decades and deeply respect her past work believe it's time for change. But because of the deeply hierarchical nature and deference to seniority in the Democratic Party, no one else is willing to risk their political career by running against her. 'So it was one of those, 'If not me, then who?' moments, and I felt a duty to run.' Saikat said 'I'm running because I want to help spark a national movement of candidates who are willing to fight for a new economy and society that will dramatically improve working people's lives. No single candidate can do this alone, and I am recruiting others around the country to join me — a handful for 2026 and a wave for 2028. That huge leap in incomes and living standards that started with the New Deal and went into the 1970s — we can do that again and do it while building a clean and fair economy. And if we don't — if we can't prove that democracy can deliver what people need — then people will vote for the authoritarian who promises to do it himself.'' More than 15 months are left for the midterm elections in America scheduled in November 2026. But already preparations and campaigns have started. Nancy Pelosi, now 85, has the longest term as a US congress member. She is known belonging to the centrist group of Democrats including Joe Biden and Barack Obama. The centrists are feeling uneasy, but openly they are not taking any position against Saikat Chakrabarti. Saikat has the advantage that he represents the aspirations of the white American youth also , apart from the dream of immigrant youth. He went to Harvard, did big jobs in IT sector, set up his own company and then joined politics to make a difference. The younger population in the West Coast are rallying around Saikat. His group of campaigners are marketing their New Deal for the youth. There is an air of optimism in San Francisco 's political environment. Many veteran Democrats want Pelosi to retire. Saikat is involved full time in propagating his Mission for America to the Democratic Party support base irrespective of the outcome of the midterm polls in November 2026. (IPA Service)
