India emphasises dialogue but vows ‘quality action’ if patience is tested

India emphasises dialogue but vows ‘quality action’ if patience is tested

Panic and concern in Pakistan’s streets amid risk of spiralling tensions

Osama Bin Javaid, Reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan

Pakistan says it shot down at least 25 drones with loitering munitions. The situation remains very tense and it’s the first time that military personnel have been wounded as well, while the victims of the initial Indian attack were civilians.

It feels like the situation is escalating. Several border towns were asked to turn off their lights at night and people have also been evacuated.

There’s a lot of panic and concern in the streets as flights remain suspended. In Lahore, people were woken up by the sound of explosions in the morning and they’re not sure where the country is headed in the next 24 hours.

Another concern is the Indus Waters Treaty, which is a water-distribution treaty between India and Pakistan upon which the livelihoods of millions of people depend. Unless the guarantors of this treaty step in and ask the nuclear powers to bring down the tensions, the fear is that they could escalate out of control.

Pakistan’s defence minister claims Kashmir attack ‘orchestrated’

(Interview with Al Jazeera from April 24, 2025)

In the aftermath of the attack on Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir, the event that kicked off this most recent round of military exchanges between India and Pakistan, Al Jazeera spoke to Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on April 24, 2025.

Asif rejected Indian allegations linking Pakistan to the Kashmir attack, calling it a “homegrown resistance” in occupied territory.

The minister accused India of possible “false flag” operations and highlighted nuclear risks, urging global intervention.

Throughout the exchange, Asif emphasised Pakistan’s diplomatic support for Kashmiris, denying any rebel ties.

Contact made between Indian, Pakistani security officials: Report

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar tells Reuters news agency that there have been contacts between the offices of the national security advisors of Pakistan and India, as hostilities between the two countries continue to escalate.

He said the hotline between the two countries’ militaries is working.

We will bring you more on this as information develops.

‘No deterrent value’: Will India’s strikes on Pakistan stop armed attacks?

Federica Marsi and Yashraj Sharma, Reporting from New Delhi, India

As tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours escalate hour by hour, with Pakistan accusing India of launching a wave of drones into its territory, military and geopolitical analysts question whether India’s approach serves as a deterrent against armed groups eager to target it.

They argue that New Delhi’s actions are more symbolic and aimed at addressing its domestic audience rather than tactical advancement in the so-called “fight against terror”.

“This is all a domestic theatre,” said Ajai Sahni, executive director of South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), a platform that tracks and analyses armed attacks in South Asia. “The Indian strikes [in Pakistan] have no deterrent value.

India emphasises dialogue but vows ‘quality action’ if patience is tested

Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has said New Delhi was willing to resolve conflicts through dialogue but warned against taking “unfair advantage” of it patience.

“We have always played the role of a responsible nation. We have always been in favour of resolving problems through dialogue,” Singh stated during his address, as reported by Indian news agency ANI.

“But this does not mean that anyone should take unfair advantage of our patience. If anyone tries to take advantage of our patience, then they will have to be fully prepared to face ‘quality action’ just like yesterday (Tuesday).”

IPL cricket match relocated amid hostilities: Report

Indian Premier League cricket match set to take place on Sunday between Mumbai and Punjab has been moved to Gujarat, local media reported, quoting the state’s cricket authorities.

The match between Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings was due to take place in Dharamsala, where the airport has closed in the wake of violence between India and neighbouring Pakistan.

But this evening’s match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals, which is also set to take place in Dharamsala, will proceed as planned, as will all other games in coming days.

Sunday’s match will now be played in the city of Ahmedabad in the western state of Gujarat, the state’s cricket association secretary Anil Patel told the Press Trust of India news agency on Thursday.

Several airports in northern India have been closed after New Delhi launched strikes on neighbouring Pakistan.

‘We panicked’: Residents recall Poonch shelling

Residents of Poonch district near the Line of Control in Indian-administered Kashmir say they were terrified amid the exchange of fire between India and Pakistan that flared up early morning on Tuesday.

“A shell fell. … It was right next to our house, where we were. It fell and we panicked … a glass window shattered,” Shariyar Ali, 25, a student, told the AFP news agency.

Ali, like hundreds of others, has since fled with his family some 30km (20 miles) away to the small town of Surankote, further from the range of the guns.

“The shelling around my home caused many casualties,” said Kumail Nadeem, 25, another student who ran from Poonch. “We knew personally those killed.”

“We have seen shelling before, the border is like three kilometres away,” said Zaheer Ahmed Banday, 30, who runs a small shop in Poonch. “But when they hit the city, that was unexpected. I picked up a shirt and trousers, phone and charger, and left the house as is.”

Pakistan claims up to 50 Indian soldiers killed along LoC

Attaullah Tarar, the Pakistani information minister, has said the country’s armed forces have killed 40 to 50 Indian soldiers in the exchanges along the Line of Control dividing Indian- and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

He made the assertions during a speech to legislators in the National Assembly.

India has not commented on the claim.

Pakistan dismisses claims of damage to any military sites from Indian drones: Reuters

We can now bring you more of Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif’s comments to the Reuters news agency.

He said no military sites or the air defence system in the second-largest city of Lahore sustained any damage from Indian drones.

Earlier, India’s government said its army struck and damaged air defence radars and systems at multiple locations in Pakistan.

We will bring you more shortly.

What are Israeli-made Harop drones India is said to be using against Pakistan?

Pakistani army spokesman Ahmad Sharif has said India fired several Israeli-made Harop drones at Pakistan overnight and into Thursday afternoon. Twenty-five of them were shot down, he said.

The Harop drone, produced by Israel’s Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), is one of several in India’s inventory, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Military Balance report.

According to IAI, the Harop drone is a “formidable loitering munition equipped to hunt high-value targets”. Loitering munitions are designed to hover over the battlefield and attack upon the operator’s commands.

It combines the capabilities of a drone and a missile and can operate at long ranges.

Any further action by Pakistan is an escalation: India’s foreign secretary

Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri has said any further military action by Pakistan will be considered an “escalation”, adding that Islamabad will be considered responsible for any attack on Indian infrastructure.

Earlier, India said that Pakistan had attempted to engage military targets with missiles and drones, but that the Indian military had thwarted the attacks.

We will bring you more soon.

India claims Pakistan launched ‘targeted attack’ on Sikh community

In a special briefing on Operation Sindoor, India’s foreign secretary accused Pakistan of having launched a “targeted attack” on the Sikh community in India’s Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, hitting a place of worship.

Vikram Misri denied Pakistan’s claims that India had also deliberately attacked religious sites, calling the accusation “completely false”.

He also reiterated India’s claim that those killed in its attacks on facilities in Pakistan were “terrorists”.

Information war: Are India and Pakistan telling the truth about attacks?

Usaid Siddiqui

Competing news briefings. Divergent claims. And conflicting narratives.

As Indian attacks on Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir early on May 7 pulled the nuclear-armed neighbours to the brink of a potential military conflict, a parallel war quickly broke out – over information.

Within hours of the Indian strikes, authorities on both sides continue to put out claims and counterclaims that have been amplified on social media as each country tries to control the narrative in its favour.

Five Indian jets were downed, Pakistan said, for instance. India has yet to respond to the claim; Indian officials who requested anonymity said three jets had crashed in Indian-administered Kashmir but did not confirm whether they were Indian or Pakistani planes.