Latest news with #KashmirConflict
Arab News
6 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
India arrests two for harboring Kashmir attackers
SRINAGAR, India: New Delhi's counter-terrorism agency said Sunday it has arrested two men in India-administered Kashmir for allegedly harboring Pakistani gunmen behind a deadly attack on civilians that sparked a days-long conflict between the two countries. India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) said the two suspects were from the Pahalgam area, where gunmen killed 26 people two months ago. 'The two men had provided food, shelter and logistical support to the terrorists, who had... selectively killed the tourists on the basis of their religious identity,' a statement by NIA said. The majority of those killed were Hindu men. The agency identified the two men as Parvaiz Ahmad Jothar and Bashir Ahmad Jothar, claiming the duo 'have disclosed the identities of the three armed terrorists involved in the attack,' and have confirmed they were Pakistani nationals affiliated to the proscribed Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) group. New Delhi has accused Pakistan of backing the attack without making public any evidence, and Islamabad has denied the charge. The April 22 killings triggered a series of tit-for-tat diplomatic measures by the nuclear-armed countries and led to intense exchanges of missile, drone and artillery fire. The four-day conflict left more than 70 people dead on both sides. Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between the South Asian rivals — claimed by both in full — since their independence from British rule in 1947, and the neighbors have fought two wars over its control. Rebel groups, demanding the divided region's independence or merger with Pakistan, have waged an insurgency since 1989.
Malay Mail
6 days ago
- Politics
- Malay Mail
India arrests two for allegedly harbouring gunmen behind Kashmir tourist killings
SRINAGAR, June 22 — New Delhi's counter-terrorism agency said today it has arrested two men in India-administered Kashmir for allegedly harbouring Pakistani gunmen behind a deadly attack on civilians that sparked a days-long conflict between the two countries. India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) said the two suspects were from the Pahalgam area, where gunmen killed 26 people two months ago. 'The two men had provided food, shelter and logistical support to the terrorists, who had... selectively killed the tourists on the basis of their religious identity,' a statement by NIA said. The majority of those killed were Hindu men. The agency identified the two men as Parvaiz Ahmad Jothar and Bashir Ahmad Jothar, claiming the duo 'have disclosed the identities of the three armed terrorists involved in the attack', and have confirmed they were Pakistani nationals affiliated to the proscribed Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) group. New Delhi has accused Pakistan of backing the attack without making public any evidence, and Islamabad has denied the charge. The April 22 killings triggered a series of tit-for-tat diplomatic measures by the nuclear-armed countries and led to intense exchanges of missile, drone and artillery fire. The four-day conflict left more than 70 people dead on both sides. Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between the South Asian rivals — claimed by both in full — since their independence from British rule in 1947, and the neighbours have fought two wars over its control. Rebel groups, demanding the divided region's independence or merger with Pakistan, have waged an insurgency since 1989. — AFP
South China Morning Post
13-06-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
China and India to work to bring back direct flights in latest drive to stabilise ties
China and India have agreed to work towards the resumption of direct flights and take other moves to boost exchanges as the latest step in their efforts to stabilise relations The measures were announced after Indian foreign secretary Vikram Misri held talks with Chinese foreign vice-minister Sun Weidong, who was on a two-day visit to India. New Delhi's statement released on Friday said the two sides had reviewed developments since their last meeting in January and 'agreed to continue to stabilise and rebuild ties with priority on people-centric engagements'. Both countries agreed to work towards resuming direct flights, a measure first agreed upon in talks held in Beijing in January. 'The two sides further agreed to take practical steps for visa facilitation and exchanges between media and think-tanks,' the statement said. Sun's visit marks the first visit by a senior Chinese official to India since the recent conflict with Pakistan, one of Beijing's main international partners, over Kashmir.
Zawya
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Zawya
Trump vows to bring together India, Pakistan to 'solve anything'
Washington: US President Donald Trump insisted on Thursday he would bring India and Pakistan to the table together after recent fighting, saying he can "solve anything." US diplomacy last month helped bring a ceasefire that ended four days of fighting between the nuclear-armed adversaries triggered by an attack on civilians in the Indian part of divided Kashmir. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in announcing the ceasefire that the two nations had agreed to "start talks on a broad set of issues at a neutral site." The statement was welcomed by Pakistan, which has long sought an international role over Kashmir, but India -- which has a warm relationship with the United States -- was more circumspect. Asked whether there remained plans for talks between India and Pakistan a month after the ceasefire, Trump said: "We're going to get those two getting together, you know?" "I told them, India and Pakistan -- they have a longtime rivalry over Kashmir -- I said, I can solve anything. I'll be your arbitrator," he told reporters. India refuses any outside mediation on Kashmir, the scenic Himalayan region which has a Muslim majority but a sizable Hindu minority. "Any India-Pakistan engagement has to be bilateral," Indian foreign ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal told reporters on May 29. "At the same time we are clear that talks and terror don't go together." Gunmen on April 22 massacred 26 tourists in Kashmir, most singled out as Hindus, in the deadliest attack on civilians in decades in the region which has seen a long-running insurgency. India has accused Pakistan of backing the assailants and launched military action in response. Pakistan denies involvement and accuses India of escalating tensions. © Dar Al Sharq Press, Printing and Distribution. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Gulf Insider
01-06-2025
- Politics
- Gulf Insider
The Taliban Is Back In The International Spotlight
Al Jazeera recently published a detailed piece about how India, Pakistan, and Iran are all nowadays wooing the Taliban, which is true, but they left out how Russia and China are as well while also making no mention of the newfound pressure that the US is placing upon the group. In the order that they were mentioned, Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar held an historic call with his Afghan counterpart in late May, the first between officials of their level in over a quarter century. He thanked him for condemning April's Pahalgam terrorist attack that led to the latest Indo-Pak conflict and for not falling for fake news meant to stir trouble between them. They also discussed expanding bilateral ties. India and Afghanistan have shared threat perceptions of Pakistan, the first due to the Kashmir Conflict and the second as regards Islamabad's alleged attempts to subordinate Kabul. Closer cooperation between them thus advances their interests but prompts deep suspicion from Pakistan. Segueing into that country's interests, Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of harboring terrorist groups, which the Taliban denies. The improvement of their ties upon alleviating their resultant security dilemma could pioneer a Central Eurasian Corridor from Pakistan to Russia and beyond. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi organized a meeting between their top diplomats in Beijing in late May to that end, but it's unclear whether any tangible progress will be achieved. Mutual mistrust might ultimately prove insurmountable. Moving along to Iran, that country had long-standing tensions with the Taliban over water rights and migration, but its Foreign Minister just visited Tehran in an attempt to help resolve them. Whether or not that happens is another story, but Iran has an interest in sincerely doing so due to the newfound pressure that the US is placing on the Taliban, which will be touched upon later on in this analysis. The point is that ties appear to be thawing, and at the very least, tensions might remain manageable for now. Iran's ties with Afghanistan sharply contrast with Russia's, which recently removed the Taliban's terrorist designation, just hosted a delegation at the recent Russia-Islamic World Forum in Kazan where they signed several agreements, and has a grand geo-economic vision for Afghanistan that was detailed here. The aforesaid overlaps with Pakistan's earlier mentioned connectivity plans, which partially explains their rapprochement in recent years and could position Russia to mediate between it and Afghanistan. On that topic, China is already mediating as was written above, but Russia objectively seems to be closer to the Taliban nowadays than they are given the latest agreements that were just signed. In any case, China is poised to play a major role in Afghanistan's reconstruction, though continued security threats stemming from ISIS-K appear to have thus far hampered the implementation of its plans. Nevertheless, these plans still remain in place, and it's possible that they could be speedily implemented in the future. That's precisely what the US wants to prevent, however, thus explaining the newfound pressure that it's placing upon the Taliban through Trump's demand to reobtain control over Bagram Airbase and Rubio's implied threat to redesignate the group as a 'Foreign Terrorist Organization' (possibly only if it refuses). Pakistan's possible collusion with the US will be pivotal in determining what happens. If the US succeeds, then it could reshape South Asian geopolitics, much to India's detriment and possibly also China's. Given the renewed interest that major stakeholders – India, Pakistan, Iran, Russia, China, and the US – have in Afghanistan, the Taliban's return to the international spotlight might portend a new era of cooperation and competition between them. The main variable is whether or not the Afghan-Pakistani security dilemma is soon alleviated and on what terms if so, such as Eurasian-mediated (Russia and/or China) or American-coerced, which will in turn place these dynamics on very different trajectories.
