United News of Bangladesh

Pakistan has vowed to avenge the deaths of 31 people killed in Indian missile strikes that New Delhi described as retaliation for a deadly assault on Indian tourists in Kashmir last month. Calling the strikes an “act of war,” Pakistan claimed it downed several Indian fighter jets and warned of consequences. The missile attacks hit areas in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and Punjab province, killing civilians including women and children, Pakistan’s military said, according to an AP report. India's Defense Ministry said the strikes targeted at least nine sites “where terrorist attacks against India have been planned.” Among the structures hit were two mosques. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said his country would avenge the dead but gave no details, fanning fears of all-out conflict between the nuclear-armed rivals. Already, it’s their worst confrontation since 2019, when they came close to war. Additionally, in a televised address he said, “My Pakistani people, for your own safety, our army and our people, we will always be united. We will definitely stand against them [India] and win,” he said in a televised address. “Because we are all fighting for the truth, hopefully god will always be with us,” he added, BBC reports. Sharif commended the armed forces for shooting down five Indian jets, which he said were hit after they fired their missiles but while still in Indian airspace. Israeli strikes across Gaza kill at least 59 people There was no comment from India, but three planes fell onto villages in India-controlled territory, according to police and residents. The latest hostilities have sparked fears of a broader military confrontation between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. This is their most serious escalation since 2019, when both countries engaged in aerial combat after a suicide bombing killed dozens of Indian paramilitary troops in Kashmir. Heavy exchange of cross-border fire continued following the missile strikes, with both sides reporting casualties, according to AP. In Islamabad, Pakistan's Health Minister Mustafa Kamal announced the cancellation of all scheduled leave for doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel working in public hospitals, directing them to report for duty immediately. “Urgent measures” have been introduced “in response to the crisis,” Kamal said. International concern is mounting. In comments from the Oval Office, Trump said, “I know both very well. I want to see them work it out. I want to see them stop. If I can do anything to help, I will be there.” A spokesperson for the US State Department said the United States is “closely monitoring” the situation and remains in contact with both India and Pakistan. “We urge the countries to work towards a responsible resolution that maintains long-term peace and regional stability in South Asia,” the spokesperson said, BBC reports. ‘We don't want a war’, says Jammu-Kashmir CM US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated earlier remarks by President Donald Trump, saying he hoped the violence “ends quickly” and that the United States “will work towards a peaceful resolution.” The UK government also urged India and Pakistan to show restraint and engage in direct dialogue to find a swift, diplomatic path forward. "Current tensions between India and Pakistan are a serious concern," UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a statement on Wednesday. David Lammy mentioned that the UK has close and unique relationships with both the countries. "I have made clear to my counterparts in India and Pakistan that if this escalates further, nobody wins," he added. Tensions have soared between the neighbours since the April attack in which gunmen killed 26 people, mostly Indian tourists. India accuses Pakistan of being behind the attack, which was claimed by a militant group calling itself Kashmir Resistance. India has said the group is linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba, a disbanded Pakistani militant group that New Delhi long accused of being backed by Pakistan. Islamabad denies involvement. India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars over the Himalayan region of Kashmir, which is split between them and claimed by both in its entirety. In the wake of the massacre, the rivals have expelled each other’s diplomats and nationals, closed their borders and shuttered airspace. India has also suspended a critical water-sharing treaty with Pakistan.

India fired missiles across the border into Pakistani-controlled territory in at least three locations early Wednesday, killing at a child and wounding two other people, Pakistani security officials said. India said it was striking infrastructure used by militants. India also claims there are casualties from Pakistani fire in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir. Tensions have soared between the nuclear-armed neighbors over last month’s militant attack on tourists in the Indian-controlled portion. India has blamed Pakistan for backing the militant attack, which Islamabad has denied. India has moved to punish Pakistan after accusing it of backing the attack in Pahalgam, which Islamabad denies. The region has been split between India and Pakistan since 1949 and is claimed by both in its entirety. Aircraft crashes on a school building in the outskirts of main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir An unknown aircraft has crashed on a school building in the outskirts of the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Police and residents said the aircraft fell in the early hours Wednesday, shortly after India launched missile strikes on Pakistan. “There was a huge fire in the sky. Then we heard several blasts also,” said Mohammed Yousuf Dar, a local resident in southern Wuyan village in Pampore area, where the incident occurred. Firefighters struggled for hours to extinguish the fires. Police and military officials sealed off the area immediately after the incident. India says Pakistani army shelling kills 3 India’s army says three civilians were killed in Pakistani shelling into Indian-controlled Kashmir. It says the Pakistani army “resorted to arbitrary firing” across the de facto border that divides disputed Kashmir between the two countries. Pakistan tells UN it reserves right to respond Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs says Islamabad has informed the U.N. Security Council about the Indian attacks and the threat it poses to international peace and security. The ministry says in a statement that the Security Council was told that “Pakistan reserves the right to respond appropriately to this aggression at a time and place of its choosing.” Officials say India used precision strike weapons systems Indian security officials say that army, navy and air force personnel used precision strike weapon systems, including drones, to carry out the strikes. The officials said that intelligence agencies provided coordinates for the strikes and that all operations were executed from Indian territory. The officials said the strikes targeted the headquarters of militant groups Jaish-e-Mohammed in Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba in Muridke. South Asia analyst says Pakistan's response will ‘pack a punch’ Geopolitical analyst Michael Kugelman said that “these are some of the most high-intensity Indian strikes in Pakistan in years, and Pakistan’s response will surely pack a punch as well.” “These are two strong militaries that, even with nuclear weapons as a deterrent, are not afraid to deploy sizeable levels of conventional military force against each other. The escalation risks are real. And they could well increase, and quickly,” Kugelman said in an interview with The Associated Press. Rubio says he hopes the latest conflict ends quickly The U.S. secretary of state says in a post on X that “I am monitoring the situation between India and Pakistan closely.” Rubio continued: “I echo @POTUS’s comments earlier today that this hopefully ends quickly and will continue to engage both Indian and Pakistani leadership towards a peaceful resolution.” Trump said earlier Tuesday that he hopes the fighting “ends very quickly” and called it “a shame.” Indian airlines cancel some flights SpiceJet says it cancelled flights to Srinagar, Indian-controlled Kashmir’s main city, and to the cities of Dharamshala, Leh, Jammu and Amritsar in northern India after their airports were “closed until further notice.” Dhaka seeks peace, not conflict: Touhid tells his Pak counterpart There was no immediate comment from India’s civil aviation ministry. Two other Indian airlines also said they were cancelling their flights to the airports till possibly later Wednesday. Indian official says Prime Minister Modi monitored the operation An Indian official says Prime Minister Narendra Modi monitored the operation against Pakistan through the night. The government official says there were nine targets that were hit “successfully.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity as he wasn’t authorized to disclose details. Pakistani official says eight killed and dozens injured Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif, Pakistan’s military spokesperson, says India attacked six locations, killing eight people and injuring 38 others. He said in televised remarks that five civilians were killed in Ahmedpur East in Punjab province and that three people were killed at other locations. Sharig says that “retaliatory action is being taken in response to the enemy’s attacks.” Emergency declared in hospitals in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir Waqar Noor, the region’s interior minister, says authorities have declared an emergency in local hospitals. In Muzaffarabad, the main city of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, resident Abdul Sammad says he heard several explosions and that some people were wounded in the attack. He says people were running in panic and that authorities immediately cut the power, leading to a blackout. Indian police say a woman is killed and a girl is injured during border fight Police say a woman was killed and a girl was wounded in Indian-controlled Kashmir when Indian and Pakistani soldiers exchanged mortar and gunfire at several places along the highly militarized frontier. A local doctor says the woman was killed in the Mankote area of the Poonch district. The doctor spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media. India says official spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio India’s embassy in Washington says that Ajit Doval, the country’s national security adviser, has spoken U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio shortly after the Indian strikes. The Embassy says in a statement that India’s actions “were measured, responsible and designed to be non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistani civilian, economic or military targets have been hit. Only known terror camps were targeted.” Pakistan says a child was killed and two people injured in attack A Pakistani official says one missile struck a mosque in the city of Bahawalpur in Punjab, where a child was killed and a woman and man were injured. The official and others say Pakistan launched retaliatory strikes but didn’t provide any details. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. Pakistan condemns what it calls Indian Air Force strikes on civilian areas The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned what it calls a “blatant and unprovoked act of aggression” on civilian areas by the Indian Air Force. It says Indian aircraft lunched strikes from Indian airspace, targeting civilian areas in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and in Punjab province. The ministry says in a statement that the attack reportedly resulted in civilian casualties, including women and children, and posed a significant threat to commercial air traffic.UN secretary-general calls for restraint U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric says in a statement that Secretary General Antonio Guterres is calling for restraint from both countries. “The world cannot afford a military confrontation between India and Pakistan,” the statement read. Pakistan’s defense minister condemns what he calls a ‘cowardly act’ Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif has strongly condemned what he calls a “cowardly act by India.” He told Pakistan’s Geo news channel that India had deliberately targeted civilian populations and a mosque. “This was a cowardly move by India,” Asif said. “We will also respond.” Indian army says Pakistan fired artillery along the border The Indian army says in a statement that Pakistan fired artillery along what’s known as the de facto border, or the Line of Control, in Bhimber Gali in India-controlled Kashmir. It said India’s armed forces were “responding appropriately in a calibrated manner.” Pakistan’s Sharif convenes national security committee Pakistan’s prime minister has convened a meeting of the National Security Committee on Wednesday morning, according to a government announcement. Pakistan's prime minister calls Indian action an ‘act of war’ In a statement, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that “Pakistan has every right to give a robust response to this act of war imposed by India, and a strong response is indeed being given.” Sharif said the entire nation stands with the Pakistan Armed Forces, and the morale and spirit of the Pakistani people are high. “The Pakistani nation and the Pakistan Armed Forces know very well how to deal with the enemy,” he said. “We will never let the enemy succeed in its nefarious objectives.” Trump says he hopes fighting ‘ends very quickly’ President Donald Trump was asked about the airstrikes India launched in Pakistani-controlled territory and said he’d just heard about it an said, “It’s a shame.” “I guess people knew something was going to happen based on a little bit of the past. They’ve been fighting for a long time. They’ve been fighting for many, many decades. And centuries, actually, if you really think about it,” Trump said. Fire along the frontier India and Pakistan accused each other of initiating the attacks. The incidents could not be independently verified. In the past, each side has accused the other of starting border skirmishes in the Himalayan region. Strikes follow a militant attack on Kashmir last month The strikes come amid soaring tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors over last month’s militant attack on tourists in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir. India has blamed Pakistan for backing the militant attack, which Islamabad has denied. India fires missiles across the frontier with Pakistan, killing at least 1 child, officials say India fired missiles across the border into Pakistani-controlled territory in at least three locations early Wednesday, killing at a child and wounding two other people, Pakistani security officials said. India said it was striking infrastructure used by militants. The missiles early Wednesday struck locations in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and in the country’s eastern Punjab province, according to three Pakistani security officials. One of them struck a mosque in the city of Bahawalpur in Punjab, where a child was killed, and a woman and man were injured, one official said. The officials said Pakistan had launched retaliatory strikes, without providing any details. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media on the record. India says at least nine sites were targeted India’s Defense Ministry said in a statement Wednesday that at least nine sites were targeted “where terrorist attacks against India have been planned.” “Our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistan military facilities have been targeted,” the statement said, adding that “India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of targets and method of execution.”