India defense minister says did not end fighting with Pakistan due to pressure
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Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
India wraps up mass Hindu pilgrimage in contested Kashmir
SRINAGAR, India: More than 400,000 Hindus took part in a month-long pilgrimage in contested Indian-run Kashmir, authorities said, shrugging off security worries weeks after conflict with Pakistan. The pilgrimage began on July 3 and closes officially on August 9, but organizers said that lashing rains had damaged narrow paths forcing a premature end. Official Vijay Kumar Bidhuri said in a statement late Saturday that 415,000 pilgrims had taken part. Many of the faithful began their trek to the Amarnath ice pillar from near Pahalgam, where gunmen on April 22 killed 26 mostly Hindu tourists in the Muslim-majority region. New Delhi said the gunmen were backed by Pakistan, claims Islamabad rejected — triggering a series of tit-for-tat diplomatic measures that escalated into a four-day conflict. It was the worst standoff by the nuclear-armed nations since 1999, with more than 70 people killed in missile, drone and artillery fire on both sides, before a May 10 ceasefire. New Delhi last week said that three Pakistani men who carried out the Pahalgam attack were killed during a gunbattle on July 28 in forests adjacent to the hills where the cave shrine is located. A few devotees may still visit the cave, but the numbers this year fall short of the estimated half a million devotees who took part in 2024. Officials appealed to Hindus to undertake the pilgrimage, ramping up security for the event by deploying 45,000 troops with high-tech surveillance tools overseeing the grueling trek to the cave, dedicated to Shiva, the deity of destruction. On Sunday, Indian forces exchanged fire with gunmen for a third day in Kulgam, far from the Amarnath pilgrimage route. Soldiers have killed two militants, a senior police officer said. Kashmir has been divided between the India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947, with both administering it in part and claiming in full. Rebel groups have fought Indian forces for decades, demanding Kashmir's independence or its merger with Pakistan.
Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
Pakistan, Iran sign agreements eyeing $10 billion trade, stress cooperation to eliminate militancy
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Iran have signed agreements in the fields of politics, economy, culture and other vital sectors, Iranian President Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday, as Tehran and Islamabad eye raising their bilateral trade to $10 billion. Pezeshkian arrived in Pakistan's capital on Saturday on a two-day state visit to increase bilateral trade and strengthen relations between the two countries. Pakistan and Iran have remained at odds over instability along their shared, porous border that even led to a missile exchange between them last year. Both countries, however, were quick to move to ease tensions. Iran and Pakistan have attempted to forge closer economic and investment ties through border markets and trade links in recent years. 'My deep belief is that we can easily, in a short time, increase the volume of our trade relations from the current $3 billion to the projected goal of $10 billion,' Pezeshkian told reporters during a joint press conference with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and high-level delegations from both countries in attendance. 'We reached good agreements in the political, economic, commercial, and cultural fields during this visit,' he said. The Iranian president said Islamabad and Tehran had signed 'important documents' that would facilitate and promote bilateral ties in commercial, cultural, tourism, transportation and scientific and educational exchanges between the two nations. 'The development of transit routes, railroad and sea routes, the development and equipping of border markets facilitating trade and the establishment of joint free economic zones, are serious needs in the relations between the two countries,' Pezeshkian noted. 'And we had constructive discussions on those issues.' Pakistan and Iran routinely trade blame for not tackling militancy in their shared border areas. The Iranian president said the issue had come up in talks between both sides. 'Also, given the threats from terrorist groups in border areas, increasing cooperation between the two countries to ensure border security and the peace and comfort of citizens in border cities was emphasized,' he said. The Iranian president condemned Israel for its military operations in Palestine, Syria and other areas of the Middle East, calling for the cessation of hostilities in Gaza. Sharif welcomed the Iranian president to Pakistan and said the two sides held fruitful discussions on culture, religion, history and geography. He condemned Israel's attack on Iran's nuclear facilities in June, saying there was no justification for the attacks. Both leaders also called for an unconditional ceasefire in Gaza. The Pakistani prime minister hoped the memoranda of understanding signed between Pakistan and Iran would 'soon' convert into agreements. 'Mr. President, today we have signed many MoUs and it is my prayer and your wish that these MoUs become agreements very soon,' Sharif said. 'And it is your wish and mine too that we achieve the target of $10 billion in trade as soon as possible,' he added. He said Iran and Pakistan had the same stance when it came to 'terrorism,' adding that both countries were opposed to it. Sharif vowed that Pakistan and Iran, through partnership and cooperation, would take steps against militants to ensure peace in their border areas.
Asharq Al-Awsat
5 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Geagea: Hezbollah Set Lebanon Back a Hundred Years
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea accused on Saturday Hezbollah of 'setting Lebanon back a hundred years', saying its weapons arsenal has 'brought Israel to Lebanon'. He made his remarks ahead of a highly-anticipated government meeting on Tuesday aimed at approving an executive mechanism to implement the 'state monopoly over arms'. Hezbollah, meanwhile, has said laying down its weapons effectively means 'handing over Lebanon to Israel.' The government meeting is in line with the 'broad lines set by President Joseph Aoun in his swearing in speech,' said Agriculture Minister Nizar Hani. He told local radio that the speech set a timeframe for limiting the possession of weapons to the state. This issue enjoys 'broad political consensus among members of government. No one is expected to boycott the government meeting, including the Shiite duo of Hezbollah and Amal,' he added. Geagea said that Hezbollah is adopting rhetoric 'that is unintelligible to others and it, in turn, does not understand the rhetoric of the majority of the Lebanese people.' Seventy-five percent of the Lebanese people do not want this reality that is imposed on them, but Hezbollah insists on it, he charged. 'Hezbollah's actions have effectively set Lebanon back a hundred years, if not more,' he lamented. Moreover, Geagea rejected claims that Hezbollah cannot lay down its arms as long as Israel continues to occupy some areas in the South. Hezbollah's weapons and 'the wars it has waged are the reason why Israel is in the South,' he stressed. 'Hezbollah claims that its weapons will force Israel out of the South, while in fact, the arms are the reason it is there,' he continued. 'Any hope for Israel to quit the South should be sought through other channels, because Hezbollah's weapons have failed miserably,' he stated. 'Israel does not want to occupy Lebanon, not because it is an angelic country, but because this is not part of its strategy,' he explained. Despite the challenges, Geagea said the 'future still looks good even though Lebanon wasted the past six months due to its lax approach and delusions that it can hold dialogue with Hezbollah.' He noted that the president enjoys full legitimacy and the parliament granted the government its vote of confidence twice. 'So, now these authorities are demanded to work without waiting for Hezbollah's reply, because it will not,' Geagea added. 'The Lebanese people are awaiting these authorities to take the desired decision to take Lebanon out of the hole that Hezbollah landed it in and to open the chapter of a new different future,' he said. On the other side of the divide, Hezbollah MP Hussein Jishi said: 'The government will tackle the issue of state sovereignty and the weapons. We believe in the state and want it to be strong. We want the weapons to be in its possession, but we have to ask: Where was the state in confronting the (Israeli) violations of the past eight months? What has it done? Has it defended its people?' 'We want a state that can defend its people. We support a state that possesses the weapons. But what kind of state is this that remains incapable against the enemy?' he wondered. 'The demand for the resistance (Hezbollah) to lay down its weapons without finding an alternative to it is effectively a blatant demand to surrender Lebanon to Israel,' he claimed.
