Pakistan PM says territorial integrity defended at ‘all costs’ in call with US’ Rubio

 08 May 2025 ( Perwez Anwer, MD & CEO, IBTN GROUP )
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Pakistan PM says territorial integrity defended at ‘all costs’ in call with US’ Rubio

Pakistan is violating Indus Water Treaty, Indian foreign secretary says

Vikram Misri said in his special briefing on the tensions between India and Pakistan that Islamabad was “the one acting in violation of the Indus Water Treaty”, which India suspended following the attack in Pahalgam.

The foreign secretary accused Pakistan of creating roadblocks to prevent India from exercising its right to carry out projects on the western rivers.

He stressed that Pakistan’s claim that a dam was hit by India in an attack was a “blatant lie”.

Pakistan’s defence minister says ‘hardly any space left to de-escalate’

Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has told Reuters there was “hardly any space left to de-escalate” as the conflict is “entering a blind alley”.

Asif said the US was leading de-escalation efforts but that India’s drone attacks made Pakistan’s response “increasingly certain”.

The minister said Pakistan would target India’s military installations in retaliation.

India to put forward position on Pakistan’s loans at next IMF board meet

India’s executive director at the International Monetary Fund will put forward the country’s position at a board meeting on Friday, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri says.

His comments came in response to a reporter’s question on New Delhi asking for a review of loans to Pakistan.

India directs media platforms to suspend Pakistan-based media content

Citing the deadly Pahalgam attacks last month, India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has advised “all OTT platforms, media streaming platforms and intermediaries” operating in the country to “discontinue the web-series, films, songs, podcasts and other streaming media content, whether made available on a subscription based model or otherwise, having its origins in Pakistan with immediate effect”.

‘No panic here’: Pakistan’s Rawalpindi city calm amid heightened security

Faras Ghani, Reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan

Pakistan said at least three drones were intercepted in Rawalpindi, a city that lies adjacent to the capital, Islamabad.

Despite the incidents, residents say there is no panic in the city and everything is going along as normal. One person is reported to have been wounded in the alleged attack.

“Despite what happened, life is going along as normal in Rawalpindi,” Arooj Fatima, a resident, told Al Jazeera.

“There is no panic here. In fact, a lot of people here do not realise what an escalation of events could cause and are urging the Pakistan army to attack India. People do not know what could happen, but while there is apprehension, there is no fear or panic.”

The road near the stadium where one drone reportedly hit has been blocked off by security officials.

Pakistan aviation suspends operations at Karachi airport

Pakistan’s aviation authority has said it would suspend all flights at Karachi airport until 12am local time [19:00 GMT].

It said all activity would be suspended for “operational reasons”.

What happened during the Pahalgam attack?

India’s military operation in Pakistan came two weeks after a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam area, which killed 26 people.

India blamed Islamabad for the attack – a charge Pakistan strongly denies. Here is a brief summary of how the attack unfolded:

At about 2:45pm (09:15 GMT) on April 22, armed men in camouflage clothes emerged from a nearby forest in the famous resort town.
    
The attackers opened indiscriminate fire at Baisaran meadow, a scenic uphill area accessible only by foot or pony rides, and caught victims, mostly tourists, off guard, according to officials.
    
At least 25 Indian nationals and one Nepalese citizen were killed – the deadliest such attack in a quarter-century in Indian-administered Kashmir.
    
The attack also unfolded as US Vice President JD Vance was on a five-day India trip.

Pakistan PM says territorial integrity defended at ‘all costs’ in call with US’ Rubio

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity will be defended “at all costs” in a phone call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Rubio emphasised the need for India and Pakistan to work closely to de-escalate the situation, the Pakistani government said in a statement.

The US official also noted that Washington was closely monitoring the situation and was committed to promoting peace and stability in the region.

Pahalgam was a ‘false flag’ attack to obtain IWT change, minister says

Faras Ghani, Reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan

Pakistan’s former minister for water and power has said the attack in Pahalgam on April 22 was a “false flag” by India, allowing New Delhi to withdraw its involvement in the Indus Water Treaty, among other measures.

The IWT is a transboundary water agreement that allows the two countries to share water flowing from the Indus basin.

Musadiq Malik, currently Pakistan’s minister for climate change and environmental coordination, told Al Jazeera that India was “trying to achieve legal changes”.

“They ended up doing (this) by saying we’re not bound by it,” he said. “If they’re not bound by it, other countries aren’t bound by it either.”

Last month, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif also called the Pahalgam attack a “false flag” without offering any evidence to back up his claims.

Pakistan has ‘exercised strategic restraint’ but ‘deserves to respond’: Foreign minister

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar is currently holding a briefing. Here’s what he said:

Pakistan “categorically denies” any actions that would impact the civilian population in India. “We deeply empathise with civilians,” Dar said.
    
Several armed Indian drones violated Pakistani airspace, while New Delhi also made attempts to attack military installations.
    
Pakistan has so far “exercised strategic restraint” and limited its response strictly for self-defence in accordance with international law and the UN charter.
    
“Pakistan deserves to respond to India at a place, time and manner of its choosing,” said Dar.

Is a drone war emerging between India and Pakistan?

Pakistan’s military said on Thursday morning that the country’s air defence system had brought down 25 Indian drones overnight over some of the country’s chief cities, including Lahore and Karachi. At least one civilian has died, and five people were wounded, it said.

India’s Defence Ministry confirmed hours later that it had targeted Pakistan’s air defence radars and claimed it was able to “neutralize” one defence system in Lahore. It said Pakistan had attempted to attack India and Indian-administered Kashmir with drones and missiles overnight, but that these had been shot down.

The drone attacks represent the latest escalation between the nuclear-armed neighbours, a day after India launched deadly missile strikes on Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, killing at least 31 people, according to Islamabad. Those were the most extensive Indian strikes on Pakistan outside the four wars they have fought. Heavy artillery shelling from both sides overnight caused border communities in the disputed Kashmir region to flee.

More from Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar

Pakistan’s armed forces downed Indian fighter jets; UAVs, with much “bravery”.
    
India’s claim it attacked Pakistan’s military installations “is a big lie”.
    
India’s claims that Pakistan launched overnight attacks is a “concocted story”.
    
My fellow countrymen and women, there’s no need to worry. Your country’s armed forces “are fully alert”.
    
Tomorrow, we have a national security meeting and we will respond to India’s attacks.

Next hours ‘critical’ amid serious escalation risks

Federica Marsi

The crisis between India and Pakistan appears to be “at a crossroads,” Washington-based South Asia analyst Michael Kugelman has told Al Jazeera.

“India has said it has no intention of further military action, unless it is attacked by Pakistan. For now, Pakistan has vowed retaliation for the initial Indian air strikes but it has also said it wants de-escalation,” he said.

“Amid reports of missile and drone attacks, Pakistan’s vow to respond may sharpen,” he continued. “We’ve gone beyond the strike, counterstrike, de-escalation pattern that has marked the most recent crises.”

Additional action by either side would send “escalation risks through the roof”. “So the next few hours will be critical,” Kugelman said.

‘We have an eye’ on any projectiles from the east: Pakistan’s miltary spokesperson

Pakistan’s military spokesperson, Lieutenant General Ahmad Sharif Chaudhary, also spoke at the briefing alongside the country’s foreign minister, which we (ALJAZEERA) have been reporting on. Here’s what Chaudhary said:

Any projectiles that come from the east, “we have an eye on it.”
    
Weapons systems are in place to take down projectiles. “Anything that is moving or anything that is coming, it is being monitored and being taken out,” Chaudhary said.
    
“It appears to be a missile; the forensics are being done to ascertain that,” he said of the debris from the projectile recently fired towards Pakistan.
    
India’s claim of 15 overnight attacks is a “such a fantastic and cooked-up story”. In the “21st century, every projectile leaves a digital trace and signature,” Chaudhary said.
    
Indian media reporting of overnight attacks are propaganda.

 

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