Pakistan says India planning military action within ‘24 to 36 hours’ as US calls for restraint

Pakistan says India planning military action within ‘24 to 36 hours’ as US calls for restraint
Pakistan Federal Minister for Information Ataullah Tarrar speaks to public in Islamabad, Pakistan, on April 29, 2025. (PTV News/Screengrab)
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Updated 30 April 2025
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Pakistan says India planning military action within ‘24 to 36 hours’ as US calls for restraint

Pakistan says India planning military action within ‘24 to 36 hours’ as US calls for restraint
  • Ataullah Tarrar warns ‘onus of escalatory spiral and its ensuing consequences shall squarely lie with India’
  • US says Secretary of State Marco Rubio will contact Pakistan and India ‘as early as today or tomorrow’

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information Ataullah Tarrar said on Wednesday Islamabad had “credible intelligence” India was planning to launch a military action against Pakistan within the next “24 to 36 hours,” as the United States urged both nuclear-armed neighbors to resolve their differences peacefully.

Relations between the two South Asian nations have deteriorated sharply following an attack on April 22 in Pahalgam, a tourist hotspot in Indian-administered Kashmir, which killed 26 people.

New Delhi blamed Islamabad for backing the assault, but Pakistan denied any involvement and called for an independent investigation while warning India against any escalation.

Tarrar issued the warning in a video statement, hours after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with his top military commanders alongside the country’s defense minister and national security adviser, reportedly granting them “operational freedom” to respond to last week’s attack.

“Pakistan has credible intelligence that India intends carrying out military action against Pakistan in the next 24 to 36 hours on the pretext of baseless and concocted allegations of involvement in the Pahalgam incident,” he said.

“Indian self-assumed hubristic role of judge, jury, and executioner in the region is reckless and vehemently rejected,” he added.

Tarrar reiterated that Pakistan had itself suffered from militancy and “always condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations anywhere in the world.”

He said Islamabad had proposed a credible and transparent probe by a neutral commission of experts to ascertain facts around the Pahalgam attack, but “India had decided to tread the path of confrontation.”

“Evasion of credible investigation is in itself sufficient evidence exposing India’s real motives, consciously making strategic decisions hostage to public sentiments purposefully trumped up for securing political objectives is unfortunate and deplorable,” he said.

“Pakistan reiterates that any such military adventurism by India would be responded to assuredly and decisively,” he added. “The international community must remain alive to the reality that the onus of escalatory spiral and its ensuing consequences shall squarely lie with India.”

Meanwhile, the United States said it was closely monitoring the situation and had reached out to both governments.

“We’re also monitoring the developments across the board in that region, and we ... are in touch with the governments of India and Pakistan, not just at the foreign minister level, certainly, but at multiple levels,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said during a media briefing.

“The Secretary [of State Marco Rubio] expects to speak with the foreign ministers of Pakistan and India as early as today or tomorrow,” she added. “He is encouraging other national leaders, other foreign ministers, to also reach out to the countries on this issue.”

On Friday, US President Donald Trump had sought to downplay the tensions, saying tensions over Kashmir had lingered for a significantly long period and the matter would be “figured out, one way or another.”


Pakistan’s currency exchange union offers $1 billion to government in case of war

Pakistan’s currency exchange union offers $1 billion to government in case of war
Updated 20 sec ago
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Pakistan’s currency exchange union offers $1 billion to government in case of war

Pakistan’s currency exchange union offers $1 billion to government in case of war
  • Currency markets are not in a state of panic, ECAP Chairman Malik Muhammad Bostan says
  • Record-breaking 6,482-point plunge stunned the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Thursday

KARACHI: The Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP) has offered $1 billion per month to the government in case of war or an emergency, the organization said on Thursday, as fears have grown that the worst confrontation in two decades of conflict between India and Pakistan could escalate.

India on Wednesday struck what it said was “terrorist infrastructure” in Pakistan and Azad Kashmir and Pakistan said it retaliated by shooting down five Indian aircraft. The Indian strikes killed 31 people and injured 57, Pakistan’s army said. 

On Thursday, Pakistan’s military said it shot down 29 drones from India at multiple locations, including the two largest cities of Karachi and Lahore and the garrison city of Rawalpindi, home to the army’s headquarters. 

The Indian defense ministry said Pakistan attempted to engage a number of military targets in northern and western India from Wednesday night into Thursday morning and they were “neutralized” by Indian air defense systems. In response, Indian forces targeted air defense radars and systems at a number of locations in Pakistan on Thursday, the ministry said.

“We are capable of providing the government with $1 billion (Rs280 billion) dollars per month in case of war or emergency,” ECAP Chairman Malik Muhammad Bostan said. “There is no panic in the currency markets.”

Exchange companies provide $25 million (Rs7 billion) daily to the interbank market, the statement said, adding that they had managed to sell $10 million (Rs2.8 billion) in the interbank market despite fresh tensions between Pakistan and India.

The statement quoted Bostan as saying the inflow of dollars would increase after flight operations returned to normal. 

The ECAP offer came amid a record-breaking 6,482-point plunge at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), marking the largest single-day decline in the index’s history as investors feared escalation in the standoff between India and Pakistan.

The relationship between India and Pakistan has been fraught with tension since they gained independence from colonial Britain in 1947. The countries have fought three wars, two of them over Kashmir, and clashed many times.

The countries, which both claim Kashmir in full and rule over parts of it separately, acquired nuclear weapons in the 1990s.


Islamabad denies as India says military stations attacked by drones and missiles

Islamabad denies as India says military stations attacked by drones and missiles
Updated 08 May 2025
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Islamabad denies as India says military stations attacked by drones and missiles

Islamabad denies as India says military stations attacked by drones and missiles
  • Sirens sounded and red flashes and projectiles erupted in the night sky above Jammu for about 2-1/2 hours
  • Islamabad says accusations “entirely unfounded, politically motivated, part of reckless propaganda campaign“

JAMMU/ ISLAMABAD: Blasts rang out across the Indian city of Jammu late on Thursday during what the government said was a Pakistani drone and missile attack on military stations around the Kashmir region on the second day of clashes between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
Sirens sounded and red flashes and projectiles erupted in the night sky above Jammu for about 2-1/2 hours, a Reuters journalist said, in what appeared to be an escalation in the countries’ worst confrontation in more than two decades.
Two days of fighting have killed nearly four dozen people.
“Military stations at Jammu, Pathankot & Udhampur were targeted by Pakistani-origin drones and missiles along the international border in J&K today,” India’s Ministry of Defense said on X, citing places in and near the federal territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
“The threats were swiftly neutralized .... No casualties or material losses were reported.”
Indian TV channels also showed flares and flashes in the sky above Jaisalmer city in Rajasthan state, which shares a border with the southern Pakistani province of Sindh.
In a statement, Islamabad denied attacking Pathankot in India’s Punjab state, Srinagar in the Kashmir Valley and Jaisalmer and said the accusations were “entirely unfounded, politically motivated, and part of a reckless propaganda campaign aimed at maligning Pakistan.”
Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the country would respond to any escalation “with full resolve and determination to safeguard Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Electricity in Jammu was slowly being restored after a blackout during the attack, a Reuters journalist said.
Eight missiles, fired from Pakistan at the Jammu region towns of Satwari, Samba, Ranbir Singh Pura and Arnia, were intercepted by air defense units, added an Indian military source who asked not to be named.
They were part of a wider attack, the source added.
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif earlier said further retaliation was “increasingly certain” after both countries accused each other of launching drone attacks.
World powers from the US to Russia and China have called for calm in one of the world’s most dangerous and populated nuclear flashpoint regions. The US Consulate General in Pakistan’s Lahore ordered staff to shelter in place.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for de-escalation in separate calls with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday, the State Department said.
The relationship between India and Pakistan has been fraught with tension since they gained independence from colonial Britain in 1947. The countries have fought three wars, two of them over Kashmir, and clashed many times.
The neighbors, which both claim Kashmir in full and rule over parts of it, separately acquired nuclear weapons in the 1990s.

DRONES, MISSILES, AIR DEFENCES

In the latest confrontations, India said it hit nine “terrorist infrastructure” sites in Pakistan on Wednesday in retaliation for what it says was a deadly Islamabad-backed attack in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22.
Pakistan says it was not involved and denied that any of the sites hit by India were militant bases. It said it shot down five Indian aircraft on Wednesday.
Pakistan’s military said earlier on Thursday it shot down 29 drones from India at multiple locations including the two largest cities of Karachi and Lahore and the garrison city of Rawalpindi, home to the army’s headquarters.
The Indian defense ministry said Pakistan attempted to engage a number of military targets in northern and western India from Wednesday night into Thursday morning and they were “neutralized” by Indian air defense systems.
In response, Indian forces targeted air defense radars and systems at a number of locations in Pakistan on Thursday, the ministry said.
Before trading ended, both countries saw their stocks, bonds and currencies decline, and Pakistan’s benchmark share index closed down 5.9 percent.
Local media reported panic buying in some cities in the Indian state of Punjab, which shares a border with Pakistan, as people hoarded essentials.


US secretary of state Rubio urges Islamabad and New Delhi to step back

US secretary of state Rubio urges Islamabad and New Delhi to step back
Updated 08 May 2025
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US secretary of state Rubio urges Islamabad and New Delhi to step back

US secretary of state Rubio urges Islamabad and New Delhi to step back
  • Marco Rubio holds separate phone calls with Pakistani PM and Indian external affairs minister 
  • Urges Pakistan and India to improve communications, engage in “direct dialogue” to de-escalate 

ISLAMABAD: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday held separate telephone calls with Pakistan’s premier and the external affairs minister of India and urged the two nations to engage in “direct dialogue” to de-escalate their ongoing conflict, the state department said. 

India hit Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, called Azad Kashmir, with missiles on Wednesday and Pakistan said it shot down five Indian aircraft in retaliation in their worst clash in over two decades. Pakistan said 31 civilians were killed in the Indian strikes while New Delhi says it targeted “terror camps.”

On Thursday, Pakistan said it had shot down 29 drones launched by India while New Delhi said it had “neutralized” Islamabad’s attempts to target military targets with drones and missiles.

“He expressed US support for direct dialogue between India and Pakistan and encouraged continued efforts to improve communications,” the state department said in two separate statements after Rubio spoke to Pakistani Premier Shehbaz Sharif and Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. 

“The Secretary emphasized the need for immediate de-escalation.”

India is an important US partner for Washington, which aims to counter China’s rising influence, while Pakistan remains an ally, despite its diminished importance after the US withdrawal from neighboring Afghanistan in 2021.

Both India and Pakistan claim Muslim-majority Kashmir in full, with each controlling only part and having fought wars in the past over the region.

The latest standoff was triggered by an April 22 attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Pakistan, which has denied the claims and called for a neutral investigation.


Pakistan’s Chinese-made jet brought down two Indian fighter aircraft — US officials 

Pakistan’s Chinese-made jet brought down two Indian fighter aircraft — US officials 
Updated 08 May 2025
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Pakistan’s Chinese-made jet brought down two Indian fighter aircraft — US officials 

Pakistan’s Chinese-made jet brought down two Indian fighter aircraft — US officials 
  • Performance of leading Chinese fighter jet against Western rival is being closely watched in Washington 
  • Episode may offer insights into how Beijing might fare in any showdown over Taiwan or the wider Indo-Pacific

ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON: A top Chinese-made Pakistani fighter plane shot down at least two Indian military aircraft on Wednesday, two US officials told Reuters, marking a major milestone for Beijing’s advanced fighter jet.
The performance of a leading Chinese fighter jet against a Western rival is being closely watched in Washington for insights into how Beijing might fare in any showdown over Taiwan or the wider Indo-Pacific.
One US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there was high confidence that Pakistan had used the Chinese-made J-10 aircraft to launch air-to-air missiles against Indian fighter jets — bringing down at least two.
Another official said at least one Indian jet that was shot down was a French-made Rafale fighter aircraft.
Both officials said Pakistan’s F-16 aircraft, made by Lockheed Martin, were not used in the shootdown.
Delhi has not acknowledged the loss of any of its planes and instead said it carried out successful strikes against what it said was “terrorist” infrastructure inside Pakistan.
World powers from the US to Russia and China have called for calm in one of the world’s most dangerous, and most populated, nuclear flashpoint regions.
In France, Rafale manufacturer Dassault Aviation and the MBDA consortium, which makes the Meteor air-to-air missile, could not immediately be reached for comment on a public holiday.
While Reuters reported on Wednesday that three Indian planes went down, citing local government officials in India, this marks the first Western confirmation that Pakistan’s Chinese-made jets were used in the shootdowns.
Pakistan’s Defense minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, told Reuters on Thursday that the J-10 was used to shoot down three French-made Rafale planes, which were newly acquired by India. 
Pakistan says it downed five Indian planes in air-to-air combat. 


Indian villagers near Pakistan border call for ceasefire as shelling kills at least 13

Indian villagers near Pakistan border call for ceasefire as shelling kills at least 13
Updated 08 May 2025
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Indian villagers near Pakistan border call for ceasefire as shelling kills at least 13

Indian villagers near Pakistan border call for ceasefire as shelling kills at least 13
  • The shelling damaged several religious sites, including a temple, a Sikh shrine and a mosque
  • Statement released by India said dead include three women, five children killed in “Pakistani firing”

Poonch, Indian-administered Kashmir: Indian villagers called for a ceasefire on Thursday after at least 13 civilians were killed by what authorities said was Pakistani shelling in Poonch, along the India-Pakistan border, in Jammu and Kashmir.

The shelling damaged several religious sites, including a temple, a Sikh shrine, and a mosque.

“We appeal to the government that there should be a ceasefire as soon as possible. There should be peace and harmony,” said a villager Malkeet Singh.

A statement released by the Indian government on Thursday said 16 lives, including three women and five children, were lost “due to Pakistani firing.”

Pakistan said at least 31 of its civilians were killed and about 50 wounded in Wednesday’s strikes and in cross-border shelling across the frontier in Kashmir.

The nuclear-armed neighbors’ tit-for-tat measures began after gunmen opened fire in the Baisaran Valley, a popular tourist attraction in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam area, on the afternoon of April 22, killing 26 people and wounding several others before fleeing into the surrounding pine forests.

Although Pakistan’s federal government has pledged to respond to India’s strikes, Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told The New York Times on Wednesday Pakistan was ready to de-escalate.

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said New Delhi did not intend to escalate the situation. 

“However, if there are military attacks on us, there should be no doubt that it will be met with a very, very firm response,” he said at India-Iran Joint Commission Meeting.

“Our livestock and belongings are all gone. Nothing is left. This shelling must stop, and there should be peace. For God’s sake, give us peace. We want peace for everyone,” said a resident of Uri on the Indian side of the border.