ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s military on Friday accused India of deliberately targeting civilians along the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border in the disputed Kashmir region, as tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors escalated sharply this week.

Fighting between the South Asian rivals intensified after India carried out strikes on multiple locations in Pakistan on Wednesday, in response to a deadly April 22 attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that left 26 tourists dead. New Delhi blamed Islamabad for the attack, a charge Pakistan has denied.

In the days since, Pakistan has claimed to have downed five Indian fighter jets and over 75 drones, while India said it had retaliated against Pakistani air and drone assaults by destroying an air defense system in Lahore.

The cross-border violence also had a devastating impact on civilians living along the LoC, with both sides trading heavy fire over the past two days.

“Pakistan has been receiving the Indian artillery shelling,” the military’s spokesperson, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, told Türkiye’s TRT World in an interview.

“Unfortunately, they are targeting, deliberately targeting, the civilians,” he continued. “Pakistan is now firing on the posts from where the [Indian] artillery and the military are firing. We are concentrating and putting our fire only on military targets.”

Chaudhry said Pakistan’s response was defensive and restrained, limited to small arms fire against Indian military positions.

He also denied New Delhi’s claims that Pakistan had launched large-scale drone or missile attacks across the international border, calling them “fabrications” designed to fuel a “media frenzy.”

“Since last night, they [India] have created a media blitz that Pakistan has launched drones, aircraft and a massive attack across the international border,” he said, adding: “In 21st century warfare, everything has an electronic signature. If there have been attacks with missiles from the Pakistani side, there has to be an electronic signature.”

Chaudhry further accused India of “gagging” international and domestic media as well as controlling digital platforms, saying it was using its new organizations to spread disinformation hour after hour.

The LoC has long been a flashpoint between India and Pakistan, both of which claim the disputed Kashmir region in full but control only parts of it. The latest hostilities mark one of the most serious flare-ups in decades.

KARACHI: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday lauded the contribution of overseas Pakistanis as workers’ remittances surged to a record $31.2 billion during the first ten months of the current fiscal year, with Saudi Arabia emerging as the top source of inflows.

According to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), remittances rose by 30.9 percent during July-April FY25 compared to $23.9 billion received in the same period last year.

In April alone, Pakistan received $3.2 billion, showing a 13.1 percent year-on-year increase. The inflows were mainly sourced from Saudi Arabia ($725.4 million), United Arab Emirates ($657.6 million), United Kingdom ($535.3 million) and the United States ($302.4 million).

“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed satisfaction over a 31 percent increase in remittances during the first 10 months of fiscal year 2025 compared to the previous year,” a statement issued by his office said.

“Remittances reaching a record level is a reflection of the confidence of overseas Pakistanis in government policies,” it quoted him as saying.

Remittances form a vital pillar of Pakistan’s external sector, helping stabilize the current account, fueling domestic consumption and easing the country’s reliance on external borrowing.

Earlier this year, in March, the SBP recorded an all-time monthly high of $4.1 billion in remittance inflows, driven by seasonal factors and improved formal channel usage.

Pakistan has focused on boosting exports and remittances in recent years as part of broader efforts to strengthen its external sector and address economic vulnerabilities.

The central bank has also revised its FY25 remittance projection upward from $36 billion to $38 billion, citing current trends.