International Crisis Group says world powers ‘indifferent’ to India-Pakistan crisis

International Crisis Group says world powers ‘indifferent’ to India-Pakistan crisis

Nepal says in touch with citizens amid India-Pakistan tensions

The Nepalese Foreign Ministry says in a statement that it is in “constant contact” with its citizens in Pakistan, including students, as exchanges of fire heat up.

One Nepalese tourist was killed on April 22 during the Pahagalm attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, along with 25 Indian nationals.

India accuses Pakistan of targeting places of worship

India and Pakistan have traded accusations that they each targeted places of worship.

In his media briefing, India’s foreign secretary said that Pakistani shelling on Wednesday killed two students at the Christ School in Poonch, while severely injuring their parents.

“This is a new low, even for Pakistan,” Vikram Misri said, adding that Islamabad was shelling such sites with a “particular design”.

Pakistan left with limited options on how to respond to Indian attacks

Retired army general Ghulam Mustafa says Pakistan has been forced to choose between submission or war, after India launched a wave of missile attacks this week.

“An act of war can only be responded to by another act of war,” Mustafa told Al Jazeera.

The former officer said while Islamabad’s response would have to be “measured” to avoid an escalation, “India has to feel the pain for starting this conflict.”

He added that Kashmir has been the flashpoint in previous conflicts as well, and that solving this dispute was necessary to achieving peaceful coexistence between India and Pakistan.

How will Pakistan attack India?

With Pakistan denying any missile or drone attacks against India, Pakistan’s warning of upcoming retribution remains alive, hovering over the 1.6 billion people of South Asia, 17 days after armed gunmen killed 26 male civilians in Pahalgam, Indian-administered Kashmir, triggering the current escalation.

Experts say how Pakistan responds will likely be shaped by its desire to demonstrate that it can hurt India, without pushing the crisis over the edge into a full-blown conflict.

Homes shelled in Indian-administered Kashmir

The military says Pakistan has resorted to what it says are “numerous ceasefire violations” along the line of control, including shelling villages.

India’s army says Pakistan launched “multiple” drone attacks across India’s entire western border on Thursday night and into Friday morning.

India’s former ambassador accuses Pakistan’s army chief of ‘sponsoring terrorism’

Former Indian Ambassador to Pakistan G Parthasarathy has accused Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir of “sponsoring terrorism across the border”.

“He thinks India is going to sink under the pressure,” Parthasarathy told Al Jazeera. “This is not a war against the people of Pakistan, unfortunately they have come under a person who thinks he can blackmail India through terrorism.”

Asked if de-escalation efforts were still possible, he said there would be “no talks with Pakistan until terrorism ends”.

Pakistan military spokesperson says ‘We will not de-escalate’ with India

Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry told a news conference: “We will not de-escalate – with the damages India did on our side, they should take a hit.

“So far we have been protecting ourselves but they will get an answer in our own timing,” the spokesperson added.

What are the Turkish-made drones Pakistan is alleged to be using?

Earlier, Indian army spokesperson Vyomika Singh said Pakistan had launched 300 to 400 drones, the majority of which were intercepted and destroyed by Indian air defence systems.

An Indian analysis of the debris suggested these were Turkish-made Songar models, which are domestically developed by Turkiye by Ankara-based company Asisguard.

The armed, low-altitude quadcopter drones can broadcast real-time video and operate within an operational range of up to 10 kilometres (6.2 miles).

They are able to be equipped with a range of weapons, including machine guns, mortar rounds and grenade launchers.

Fast facts: India and Pakistan tensions

In 1947, the British colonial rulers drew a line of partition, dividing the Indian subcontinent into Muslim-majority Pakistan and Hindu-majority India. What followed was one of the largest – and, perhaps, bloodiest – migrations in human history.
    
Seventy-eight years on, the two nations remain bitter foes. But now they have nuclear arms.
    
The tension between India and Pakistan has escalated sharply once again after the Pahalgam attack on April 22, 2025.
    
The Muslim-majority Kashmir region, a former princely state, has been in dispute since the partition of India. India, Pakistan and China each control a part of Kashmir. India claims all of it, while Pakistan claims the part administered by India.
    
The two countries have gone to war four times, and there have been numerous cross-border skirmishes and escalations, including one in 2019 after at least 40 Indian soldiers were killed in a suicide attack claimed by the Pakistan-based armed group, Jaish-e-Muhammad.

In retaliation, India launched air strikes in Balakot, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa later that month, claiming that its jets had struck “terrorist” bases, killing many fighters. Many independent analysts have questioned whether India actually struck bases of armed groups and whether it killed as many fighters as it claims it did.

Multiple blasts and a blackout reported in Jammu city

Multiple blasts have been heard in Jammu city in Indian-administered Kashmir for a second day, and projectiles have been seen in the night sky after a blackout.

“Intermittent sounds of blasts, probably heavy artillery, can now be heard from where I am,” the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah said in a post on X.

In an earlier post he said: “Blackout in Jammu now. Sirens can be heard across the city.”

Jammu resident reports drone attack on the city

Jammu resident Rashul Singh Oberh has told Al Jazeera that a blackout in the city in Indian-administered Kashmir started at about 8pm (14:30 GMT) and a drone attack started about 15 to 30 minutes later.

“I’m at my workplace and can see red light and explosions in the sky,” he said.

Blasts and ‘heavy firing’ heard in Indian city of Amritsar

Witnesses have told the Reuters news agency that four blasts have been heard in Amritsar, a city in the northwestern Indian state of Punjab, about 30km (19 miles) from the border with Pakistan.

Journalist Ravinder Singh Robin has also reported “heavy firing sounds” in the city.

“Just moments ago, heavy firing sounds heard near Air Force Cantonment around Ajnala Road in Amritsar,” he posted along with a video on X.

Uncertainty and fear grips India

Um-e-Kulsoom Shariff, Reporting from New Delhi, India

There had been relative calm since this morning, but now that has changed, because gunshots and loud explosions have been reported along the Line of Control.

We’re also getting reports of a blackout in Jammu.

There have been fast-moving developments overnight, including India saying it has taken down several Pakistani drones and missiles and also stopped armed men trying to cross into the Indian side.

There have also been a lot of security developments in many cities, including the Indian capital, New Delhi, which is on high alert.

About 20 airports have been shut, and they were to remain shut until the 15th.

The Indian Premier League, a much-loved and highly watched series that has been under way with matches all over the country, will now be suspended for a week.

‘We still have an opportunity for an off-ramp’: Harsh Vardhan Shringla

India’s former Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla has told Al Jazeera that, as he understands, the national security advisers of India and Pakistan “are in touch with each other”.

He said the message being conveyed in news conferences by Indian officials is that “India is committed to peace, but the choice of de-escalation lies with Pakistan. In other words, there is an off-ramp situation here”.

He added, “Even if you look at the Indian air force briefing, there’s a lot of … operational restraint that is being talked about, and the fact that there is definitely a desire to avoid a wider conflict.

“India does believe that its actions have been calibrated, have been precise, have been responsible, and it is not designed in any way to escalate the situation, unless Pakistan, you know, sort of seeks that avenue.

“And if that’s the case, then the Indian response is likely to be firm.”

International Crisis Group says world powers ‘indifferent’ to India-Pakistan crisis

The think tank says “foreign powers appear to have been somewhat indifferent” to the prospect of war, despite warnings of possible escalation.

“Aside from their preoccupation with the multitude of other crises unfolding around the world, many foreign capitals may also have feared contradicting themselves after having expressed support for India’s prerogative to ‘fight terrorism’ following the brutal Pahalgam killings,” the ICG said in a statement.

US Vice President JD Vance on Thursday said that Washington wanted to see a “de-escalation” in a worsening conflict between India and Pakistan, but that it was “fundamentally none of our business”.

But the ICG said that a “combination of bellicose rhetoric, domestic agitation and the remorseless logic of military one-upmanship have heightened the risks of escalation, particularly because for some time there was no diplomatic communication between the sides”.