Indian army says three men killed after firefight in Indian Kashmir
The men are suspected to be behind the April 22 attack on Hindu tourists in Indian Kashmir that sparked a deadly military conflict with neighbour Pakistan, two Indian TV news channels said.
Reuters could not immediately verify the involvement of the men in the attack.
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Al Arabiya
7 minutes ago
- Al Arabiya
India hits back at Trump's threat over Russian oil purchases
India's ruling party and main opposition condemned on Tuesday a threat by US President Donald Trump to raise tariffs on goods from India over its Russian oil purchases, in a show of political unity as a trade rift deepens with Washington. Trump had already in July announced 25 percent tariffs on Indian imports, and US officials have cited a range of geopolitical issues standing in the way of a US-India trade accord. Manish Tewari, a member of parliament and leader of the opposition Congress, said Trump's 'disparaging remarks hurt the dignity and self-respect of Indians.' 'The time has come to call out this constant bullying and hectoring,' he added. BJP Vice President Baijayant Jay Panda quoted Henry Kissinger - the most powerful US diplomat of the Cold War era - in a post on X: 'To be an enemy of America can be dangerous, but to be a friend is fatal.' Legendary US Secretary of State & NSA, Dr Henry Kissinger's timeless statement: "To be an enemy of America can be dangerous, but to be a friend is fatal." — Baijayant Jay Panda (@PandaJay) August 5, 2025 India's Foreign Ministry said the country was being unfairly singled out over its purchases of Russian oil, and highlighted continued trade between Moscow and both the United States and the European Union, despite the war in Ukraine. 'It is revealing that the very nations criticizing India are themselves indulging in trade with Russia,' it said in a statement issued late on Monday. 'It is unjustified to single out India,' the ministry said. It said the EU conducted 67.5 billion euros ($78.02 billion) in trade with Russia in 2024, including record imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) reaching 16.5 million metric tons. The United States, the statement said, continues to import Russian uranium hexafluoride for use in its nuclear power industry, palladium, fertilizers and chemicals. It did not give a source for the export information. The US embassy and the EU's delegation in New Delhi did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Both the United States and EU have sharply scaled back their trade ties with Russia since it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In 2021, Russia was the EU's fifth-largest trading partner, with goods exchange worth 258 billion euros, according to the EU executive European Commission. Sudden rift India is the biggest buyer of seaborne crude from Russia, importing about 1.75 million barrels per day of Russian oil from January to June this year, up 1 percent from a year ago, according to data provided to Reuters by trade sources. It has faced pressure from the West to distance itself from Moscow since Russia invaded Ukraine. New Delhi has resisted, citing its longstanding ties with Russia and economic needs. India's National Security Adviser Ajit Doval is likely to travel to Russia this week on a scheduled visit, two government sources said. Foreign Minister S Jaishankar is expected to visit in the coming weeks. The sudden rift between India and the US has been deepening since July 31, when Trump announced the 25 percent tariff on goods being shipped to the US and for the first time threatened unspecified penalties for buying Russian oil. Trump has said that from Friday he will impose new sanctions on Russia as well as on countries that buy its energy exports, unless Moscow takes steps to end the war with Ukraine. The trade tensions have caused concern about the potential impact on India's economy. The equity benchmark BSE Sensex .BSESN closed down 0.38 percent, while the rupee dropped 0.17 percent versus the dollar.
Arab News
7 minutes ago
- Arab News
Opposition party stages rallies in Pakistan's northwest to demand ex-PM Khan's release
PESHAWAR: Supporters of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party held coordinated rallies across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday to demand the release of jailed ex-premier Imran Khan but were unable to convene in the capital and other key regions due to arrests of supporters and restrictions on public gatherings. The rallies mark the second anniversary of Khan's arrest and come amid a 90-day 'do or die' protest campaign the party launched in mid-July. The PTI leadership has pledged peaceful but sustained mobilization against what it calls politically motivated cases against Khan and other party leaders. Ahead of Tuesday's rallies, at least 120 PTI supporters and leaders were arrested in raids overnight, security officials confirmed to Reuters. Most of the detentions, made on Monday night and early on Tuesday, were in the eastern city of Lahore where the PTI had vowed its biggest demonstration, as well as protests elsewhere. At least 200 activists had been arrested from Lahore, said party spokesperson Zulfikar Bukhari, adding that the protest would go ahead. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a province the PTI has ruled since 2018, saw widespread mobilization on Tuesday despite a ban on public gatherings under Section 144 imposed in the federal capital and other regions. The main rally in the provincial capital, Peshawar, was led by KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, while district-level convoys converged at interchanges and city centers across the province. 'This protest is being held to raise a voice against the illegal arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan and to demand his immediate release,' said a statement by the PTI's chapter in North Waziristan, a main district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. 'Imran Khan is the hope and voice of the people of Pakistan and is being targeted for political revenge,' party speakers said at a rally in North Waziristan's main town of Miranshah, adding that 'all false and baseless cases must be immediately dismissed.' Rallies were reported in Swabi, Charsadda, Mardan, Nowshera, Mohmand, Battagram, Abbottabad, Upper Chitral, Shangla, Upper Dir, Mansehra and Kurram, among other areas. 'The Freedom Movement rally will also be held in other districts, with a large number of workers participating,' PTI Khyber Pakhtunkhwa social media head Ikram Khattana said in a statement shared with media. 'The rally departing from Swabi, Charsadda and Mardan will conclude at Ambar Interchange, Swabi … The rally departing from Chakdara Toll Plaza at 4pm will be led by MPAs Junaid Akbar and Fazal Hakim,' Khattana added. In Upper Chitral, a major rally was led by Deputy Speaker of the KP Assembly Surayya Bibi and PTI District President Shehzada Sikandarul Mulk. Party representatives said cabinet members, tehsil chairpersons, women's wing leaders and VC chairmen participated as the caravan moved toward Charon Bridge. In district Kurram, PTI described the rally as 'historic,' and said it was held in defiance of 'difficult conditions' for political activism in the area. 'The people of Kurram have proven that they stand with Imran Khan,' the party's district unit said. The protests follow a national call to action by PTI, which announced in July it would stage 'do or die' demonstrations every week for 90 days to demand Khan's release. The party's leadership claims he is facing over 170 cases, including charges of corruption, sedition and terrorism, which they allege are part of a military-backed crackdown to keep him out of politics. The government and army deny the charges of political persecution. The PTI ruled Pakistan from 2018 until 2022, when Khan was ousted in a parliamentary no-confidence vote. He was arrested in May 2023 and again in August 2023, and is currently imprisoned at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where he is serving sentences in multiple cases. He has also been disqualified from holding public office by Pakistan's election commission. Security was tight in the capital and in parts of Punjab on Monday and Tuesday, with the government imposing Section 144 to prevent large gatherings. In Rawalpindi and Islamabad, authorities preemptively detained dozens of PTI activists, according to local media reports. However, there were no major reports of violence from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the PTI remains in government. Khan's party had always created 'chaos,' Uzma Bukhari, a spokesperson of the provincial government, told a press conference on Monday. 'No political party can be barred from politics in Pakistan, but a terrorist organization disguised as a political party is not allowed to disrupt Pakistan's peace.'
Arab News
7 minutes ago
- Arab News
India, Philippines upgrade ties to strategic partnership on Marcos' Delhi visit
New Delhi/Manila: India and the Philippines elevated their ties to a strategic partnership on Tuesday during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s visit to New Delhi, as the two countries also move to boost trade and defense engagements. Marcos is on a five-day visit to India, where he was accorded full ceremonial honors involving a military parade and formal reception before he met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two leaders jointly declared the strategic partnership and agreed to boost cooperation across various areas, including culture, tourism and space. 'India and the Philippines are friends by choice, and partners by destiny. From the Indian Ocean to the Pacific, we are united by shared values. Ours is not just a friendship of the past, it is a promise to the future,' Modi said in a joint press statement. After their navies sailed together for the first time in the South China Sea on Monday, the two countries also agreed on Tuesday to bolster defense collaboration. 'Strengthening defense relations (is) a symbol of deep mutual trust. As maritime nations, maritime cooperation between the two countries is both natural and necessary,' Modi said. India and the Philippines have agreed to establish mechanisms for enhanced maritime cooperation between the Indian and Philippine coast guards and for talks between their militaries. 'We will foster naval and coastguard interoperability via port calls in cooperative activities and capacity building in the maritime domain,' Marcos said. With bilateral trade currently valued at more than $3 billion, Delhi and Manila will start working toward a preferential trade agreement to further strengthen commerce ties, both leaders said. For India, deepening its relations with the Philippines is 'an important step in expanding its presence in East Asia,' said Manoj Kewalramani, a fellow in China studies and chairperson of the Indo-Pacific Studies Programme at the Takshashila Institution. 'The elevation of the relationship to a strategic partnership underscores the growing political proximity between the two nations and the alignment of broader interests,' he told Arab News. Strengthening India-Philippines defense relations is a strategic move for New Delhi to support its interest in the South China Sea region. 'From a strategic perspective, I think it is important for India to work with like-minded countries on shared security concerns and shaping the strategic environment around China's periphery,' Manoj said. 'It is also worth remembering that the South China Sea is a critical route for a substantial amount of Indian merchandise trade. So India has significant interests in the region.' Tensions have continued to run high between the Philippines and China over territorial disputes in the South China Sea, a strategic waterway through which billions of dollars of goods pass each year. Manila and Beijing have been involved in frequent maritime confrontations in recent years, with China maintaining its expansive claims to the area, despite a 2016 international tribunal ruling that its historical assertion had no basis. Upgrading India-Philippines ties to a strategic partnership is indicative of 'the trust that Manila has put in place on India as an important factor in its security calculations,' said Don McLain Gill, a geopolitical analyst and international studies lecturer at De La Salle University in Manila. 'Similarly, India being part of the strategic partnership illustrates its willingness to play a more active role … as an alternative security partner and provider, along with a capacity builder,' Gill told Arab News. He expects India to tailor its defense cooperation with the Philippines based on what Manila needs, adding that there are also possibilities for joint production. 'It indicates that the sky is the limit for what both countries can achieve in the realm of defense and security cooperation, but also other strategic areas such as infrastructure and critical minerals,' he said. 'Elevating strategic partnerships isn't something that the Philippines just freely tosses around. It is earned, and the Philippines, I believe, recognizes the importance of forging closer ties with India and deepening them based on emerging realities and threats and challenges.'
