IPL suspended indefinitely due to mounting tensions

IPL suspended indefinitely due to mounting tensions

Prime Minister Modi under ‘immense pressure’ to target Pakistan

Masood Akhtar, a national security analyst and former air marshal in the Pakistani air force, has said that people in Pakistan “thought that it was all over” after India bombed the country on Wednesday.

But Akhtar told Al Jazeera that Wednesday’s attack “wasn’t enough” for many in India.

“As of now, there is immense pressure on the Indian Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) to continue to act, to ratchet up the pressure (on Pakistan),” he said.

More details from Pakistan media on drone attacks

Pakistan’s Dawn news outlet has provided more details on the wave of drone attacks launched from India on Thursday.

Dawn quoted the military as saying that the areas where drones were intercepted included Lahore, Attock, Gujranwala, Chakwal, Rawalpindi, and Bahawalpur in Punjab province, as well as Sukkur, Umerkot and Karachi in Sindh province.

One person was confirmed killed and another injured in Miano near the Line of Control with Indian-administered Kashmir, Dawn quoted Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, the military’s chief spokesperson, as saying.

Two people were also killed in Attock and Rawalpindi, Dawn reported, citing police.

Indian cricket officials to make ‘final decision’ over rest of IPL season

Cricket authorities will decide later today what will happen to the rest of the Indian Premier League (IPL) season, as reports of deadly attacks between India and Pakistan ramp up.

“We are monitoring the situation, seeking the government’s advice, and will take the final decision on the IPL tomorrow,” Rajeev Shukla, vice president of India’s cricket board, told The Indian Express newspaper on Thursday.

“The situation is changing day by day. We will do whatever we are told and inform all stakeholders. At the moment, our priority is the safety of all players, fans and stakeholders,” he added.

We previously reported than an IPL cricket match set to take place on Sunday between Mumbai and Punjab has been moved to Gujarat due to safety concerns. The match was due to take place in Dharamshala, where the airport has closed in the wake of this week’s violence.

Pakistan has already moved the remaining eight matches of the Pakistan Super League season to the United Arab Emirates due to growing security concerns.

India’s Information Ministry orders ban on ‘streaming media content’ originating in Pakistan

India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has published an “advisory” on its website which orders India-based online platforms and streaming services to discontinue “web-series, films, songs, podcasts and other streaming media content … having its origins in Pakistan”.

The order, dated Thursday, and which the Information Ministry said comes into force with “immediate effect”, was described as being “in the interest of national security”.

Earlier, we reported that India had also asked X to ban access to at least 8,000 accounts in a sweeping crackdown on Pakistan-related content on social media. The ban includes X accounts owned by news outlets and rights groups. Some YouTube and Instagram accounts were also reportedly blocked in India.

Here’s what you need to know:

The Indian army has claimed that Pakistan’s armed forces launched multiple attacks using drones and other weapons along India’s western border on Thursday night and Friday morning.
    
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar has again denied that Pakistan launched attacks on targets in Indian-administered Kashmir on Thursday, calling claims of attacks “baseless” as he questioned footage published by Indian media.
    
Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States, Rizwan Saeed Sheikh, has said there has been contact with India at the national security level, but called for escalations in “actions” and “rhetoric” to stop.
    
The Indian government has ordered X to block users in the country from accessing more than 8,000 accounts, the social media platform said, as New Delhi continues its crackdown on Pakistan-related content.
    
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed concern that tensions between India and Pakistan “will turn into a hot conflict”, as he backed an “international investigation” into the Pahalgam attack.

Pakistan says Economic Affairs Ministry’s X account hacked

Pakistan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs said its social media account was hacked after a post was published on X calling on international partners to provide loans to Pakistan amid rising tensions with neighbouring India, the Reuters news agency reports.

“We are working to have the Twitter (X) switched off,” the ministry told Reuters, adding that they “did not tweet” about it.

Earlier, both Indian and Pakistani media and information watchdogs flagged the barrage of misinformation linked to the ongoing tensions between the two countries.

Pakistan says the ‘whole world’ will know when it responds to India’s attack

Kamal Hyder, Reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan

There has been an intensification of tit-for-tat artillery duels along the Line of Control that separates India and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. There’s been casualties on the Pakistani side of the Line of Control as well.

The Pakistani military spokesman said that India should move away from cinema and into the real world after the Indians announced there were attacks across India along the bordering regions. Pakistan said that when it does carry out that attack, the whole world will find out.

Now Pakistan, of course, is under pressure to respond. They’ve told the Americans that Pakistan will respond as an act of self-defence.

Yesterday, what happened was something that was unacceptable, another provocation from India. Pakistan shot down almost 30 Israeli suicide drones – supplied to India – in several locations across the country, from the south to the north.

So Pakistan has still not responded.

There were also reports by Indian media that a Pakistani F-16 had been shot down and that a pilot had been captured. However, it is important to note that there is a user agreement with the United States in which Pakistan cannot use American F-16 fighters against India. That is an end-user agreement.

So the Indian claims are being seen as a propaganda campaign here in Pakistan.  However the situation remains tense.

Tensions are running very high and everybody is now anticipating a Pakistani response, which Pakistan says will come at a place and time of its choosing.

Indian army shares video of missile strike against Pakistan

The Indian army has released a short video clip showing a strike on a structure, which it described as a “befitting reply” to Pakistan’s violations of the Line of Control separating Indian and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

In a post on X, India accused Pakistan of carrying out a series of overnight attacks.

Officials in Pakistan say their armed forces have, so far, engaged only in defensive military measures in response to India’s attacks.

‘Confrontation could expand’ – Pakistan defence minister warns India over border strikes

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told Al Jazeera that while Islamabad seeks de-escalation, Indian aggression – including drone strikes and 78 warplane incursions – has made confrontation “imminent”.

He claimed that Pakistani forces had downed five Indian fighter jets, but could not verify the exact number of Indian casualties, noting clashes along the Kashmir Line of Control.

Asif also accused Indian Prime Minister Modi of stoking tensions to distract from India’s domestic unrest, and reiterated Pakistan’s offer to allow independent investigations into Indian claims of terrorist camps.

Situation ‘very tense’ in Srinagar along disputed India-Pakistan border

Umar Mehraj, Reporting from Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir

The situation at the Line of Control (LoC) between India and Pakistan is very tense.

For a third consecutive night, we’ve heard of exchange of fire and artillery shelling hitting several areas across the region.

Last night was yet another night of fear and chaos among residents caught in the middle of the fighting.

People have been taking shelter in community bunkers for fear of getting caught in the crossfire.

More on India’s flight suspension

As we reported yesterday, India has suspended civilian flights at 24 airports in the north of the country.

This includes the cities of Jodhpur, Ludhiana and Amritsar near the western border with Pakistan. Some of India’s biggest airlines, including Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet, have cancelled more than 100 flights since Wednesday.

Local media have now reported that the suspension of civilian flights may be lifted tomorrow morning.

Indian airlines have also issued advisories to passengers flying out from other airports, asking them to arrive at least three hours before departure, citing a government notification on enhanced security measures.

‘March to war should be halted’: Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper urges diplomacy

In an editorial published on Friday, Pakistan’s newspaper Dawn called on both Islamabad and New Delhi “to step back from the brink” as threats of a wider conflict increase.

The publication also noted the “indifference” on the part of the international community “to actively help defuse the crisis”.

“This indifference is perplexing in a nuclear neighbourhood, as an escalation in hostilities will not remain a bilateral matter, but affect all of South Asia as well as the Middle East,” Dawn stressed.

The editorial comes following the declaration from US Vice President JD Vance that the brewing conflict is “none of our business”.

“The actual reality of conflict is much darker,” the paper added. “What a nuclear showdown has in store is too horrific to contemplate. Therefore, sense must prevail, and the march to war should be halted.”

IPL suspended indefinitely due to mounting tensions

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has been suspended indefinitely due to the escalating conflict between India and Pakistan, India’s PTI news agency has reported, citing an official from the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

Pakistan tells US ambassador its security will not be compromised

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has briefed acting US ambassador Natalie Baker about the rising tensions with India and its “drone terrorism”, a statement by Pakistan’s ministry said.

It said New Delhi made a “despicable attempt to target civilian populations with drones, violating all international laws”.

“The entire region is on the brink of war,” Naqvi was quoted as saying. “We will never allow security to be compromised.”