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Old India-Pakistan rivalry drives South Asia diplomatic reshuffle

Pakistani Rangers (wearing black uniforms) and Indian Border Security Force officers lower their national flags at the Pakistan-India joint check-post at Wagah border, near Lahore, Pakistan, on August 14, 2018. (REUTERS/ File)
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Updated 01 February 2025
AFP
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Old India-Pakistan rivalry drives South Asia diplomatic reshuffle

  • New Delhi is courting Afghanistan’s Taliban while Islamabad befriends new leaders of post-revolutionary Bangladesh
  • Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have also worsened since Taliban returned to power in Kabul nearly four years ago
Updated 01 February 2025
AFP

NEW DELHI: Old rivalries between India and Pakistan are driving a shift in regional ties, with New Delhi courting Afghanistan’s Taliban while Islamabad befriends the new leaders of post-revolutionary Bangladesh.

Diplomatic dynamics in South Asia are rooted in long-running distrust between the region’s two most populous nations.

Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan — carved out of the subcontinent at the chaotic end of British colonial rule in 1947 — have fought multiple wars and remain bitter foes.

The rivalry shows no sign of abating, with New Delhi denying in January it had launched covert operations to kill anti-Indian militants on Pakistani soil.

“You can’t have snakes in your backyard and expect them to only bite your neighbors,” Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal told reporters in dismissing the allegations.

Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have also worsened since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul nearly four years ago.

Islamabad has accused Taliban authorities of failing to rein in militants they say are using Afghan territory to stage attacks that have killed thousands of Pakistani security personnel.

Pakistan launched deadly air strikes in Afghanistan border regions in December, with subsequent cross-border exchanges of fire.

The Taliban’s austere interpretation of Islamic law seems at first glance an unlikely pairing for the Hindu nationalism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but India has nonetheless moved to exploit the opportunity.

“India has been pursuing this path quite consistently for quite some time,” international relations professor Hassan Abbas of the National Defense University in Washington told AFP.

“They don’t want the Taliban to give space to any group that is going to ultimately be a bigger threat to India,” he said, adding that the prospect of “annoying Pakistan” was also appealing for New Delhi.

India’s top career diplomat, Vikram Misri, met with Taliban foreign minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi in Dubai in January.

Jaiswal described the meeting as the “highest level of engagement” yet, adding that New Delhi was determined to “strengthen our longstanding relationship with the people of Afghanistan.”

Muttaqi had in turn “expressed his hope for the expansion of relations,” a spokesman for his ministry said.

Jaiswal said it was agreed at the meeting to “promote the use” of India’s $370 million development of Iran’s Chabahar container port “for supporting trade and commercial activities” to landlocked Afghanistan.

Chabahar is just west of Pakistan’s Gwadar port, which is considered a cornerstone of the infrastructure expansion of China’s Belt and Road Initiative in Pakistan.

India has long been wary of China’s growing regional clout and the world’s two most populous countries compete for influence in South Asia, despite a recent diplomatic thaw.

The Times of India said in an editorial after the Dubai meeting that New Delhi’s “quiet yet deliberate engagement” with the Taliban was reshaping strategic regional ties.

“Despite not officially recognizing the Taliban government, India understands the importance of maintaining a foothold in Afghanistan,” the newspaper wrote.

“The move also aligns with India’s broader regional strategy, which seeks to counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative and its influence in neighboring Pakistan,” it said.

At the same time, old enemies Pakistan and Bangladesh now speak of “friendly” ties.

Pakistan and Bangladesh were once one nation but split in a brutal 1971 war, with Bangladesh then drawing closer to India.

However, long-time Bangladeshi premier Sheikh Hasina was ousted in an August 2024 revolution, fleeing by helicopter to her old ally India, where she has defied Dhaka’s extradition requests to face charges including mass murder.

Relations between India and Bangladesh’s new government have been frosty since then, allowing Islamabad and Dhaka to slowly rebuild ties.

The first cargo ship in decades to sail directly from Pakistan to Bangladesh successfully unloaded its containers in the port of Chittagong in November.

Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus also met with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in December, saying he had “agreed to strengthen relations.”

Top Bangladeshi army commanders later visited Pakistan, discussing training programs and praising the “friendly relationship” between the nations.

Dhaka University professor Amena Mohsin told AFP that the sudden closeness reflected one of the oldest dictums in international diplomacy.

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” she said.

Topics: Pakistan India Ties Pakistan Bangladesh Ties Pakistan Afghan Ties India Afghanistan Ties

Pakistan says will defend itself as Modi gives Indian army ‘operational freedom’ over Kashmir

Updated 29 April 2025
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Pakistan says will defend itself as Modi gives Indian army ‘operational freedom’ over Kashmir

  • Relations between the nuclear-armed neighbors have plummeted after India accused Pakistan of backing an attack in Kashmir that killed 26 tourists
  • PM Shehbaz Sharif rejects Indian allegations and calls for a neutral investigation in conversation with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
Updated 29 April 2025
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday told United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that Pakistan shall defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity with full force as Indian PM Modi gave the country’s military “operational freedom” to respond to last week’s attack in Kashmir, amid soaring tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
Modi on Tuesday held a closed-door meeting with army and security chiefs a week after the deadliest attack in years that killed 26 civilians, and told the armed forces that they had the “complete operational freedom to decide on the mode, targets and timing of our response to the terror attack,” AFP reported, citing a government source.
Relations between the nuclear-armed neighbors have plummeted after India accused Pakistan of backing the attack on April 22. Islamabad has rejected the charge and both countries have since exchanged gunfire in Kashmir, taken diplomatic measures against each other, expelled citizens and ordered the border shut. Modi last week vowed to pursue those who carried out the attack in Pahalgam and those who had supported it.
Amid heightened tensions, UN chief Guterres called PM Sharif and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Tuesday and underscored “the need to avoid a confrontation that could result in tragic consequences,” his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement. Gutterres offered his good offices to support the de-escalation efforts.
“While underscoring that Pakistan shall defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity with full force in case of any misadventure by India, the prime minister encouraged the UN Secretary-General to counsel India to act responsibly and exercise restraint,” Sharif’s office said. 
“The prime minister categorically rejected any attempt to link Pakistan with the Pahalgam incident and reiterated his call for a transparent and neutral investigation into the incident.”
India on April 23 suspended the World Bank-mediated Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 that ensures water for 80 percent of Pakistani farms, saying it would last until “Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism.” Islamabad described India’s move as an “act of war” and closed the Pakistani airspace for Indian airlines.
Guterres’ call came amid fears that India may conduct limited airstrikes or special forces raids near its border with Pakistan.
In his conversation with the UN chief, Sharif reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment toward fostering international peace and security as a responsible member of the international community and a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.
“He particularly highlighted India’s weaponization of the waters of the Indus Basin as unacceptable, while noting that water was the lifeline of 240 million people,” Sharif’s office said.
Also on Tuesday, Pakistani Deputy PM Ishaq Dar claimed India had been attempting to alter the 1960 Indus Water Treaty, which determines the river water-sharing mechanism between both countries, for the past two years.
“I have my doubt, much like other people, that this drama was staged to suspend this treaty,” he said, referring to the Pahalgam attack.
“We obviously don’t have evidence that they have staged this drama,” he continued. “What we do say with full confidence is that Pakistan has nothing to do with this [attack].”
Tensions have been boiling between the two nations since the attack in Kashmir, which has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947. Both countries have fought two wars over the disputed region they rule in part but claim in full.
The worst attack in recent years in Indian-administered Kashmir took place in Pulwama in 2019, when an insurgent rammed a car packed with explosives into a security forces convoy, killing 40 and wounding 35.
Indian fighter jets carried out air strikes on Pakistani territory 12 days later. The strikes were followed by the downing of an Indian fighter jet by Pakistan and the capturing of an Indian Air Force (IAF), who was released as a result of diplomatic efforts later.
The UN has urged the arch-rivals to talk, while China, which shares its border with both India and Pakistan, on Tuesday repeated its call on both sides to “exercise restraint.” Saudi Arabia has said Riyadh was trying to “prevent an escalation,” while Iran has offered to mediate the crisis.

Topics: Pakistan India Ties Pahalgam attack

Britain calls for calm in Indian and Pakistani communities after Kashmir attack

Updated 29 April 2025
Reuters
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Britain calls for calm in Indian and Pakistani communities after Kashmir attack

  • Nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan have taken a raft of measures against each other, amid tensions soaring since the April 22 attack
  • Britain is home to one of the world’s biggest Indian, Pakistani communities who have held ill-tempered protests outside each other’s high commissions
Updated 29 April 2025
Reuters

LONDON: Britain called on Tuesday for calm between Indian and Pakistani communities in London after lawmakers voiced concerns that tensions over a deadly militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir region could spill into the diaspora.
Nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan have taken a raft of measures against each other since the April 22 attack in the popular tourist destination of Pahalgam, which killed 26 people.
Delhi has blamed Islamabad for the violence. Pakistan has denied any role and called for a neutral probe.
Britain is home to one of the world’s biggest Indian and Pakistani communities.
“These issues have long been discussed with passion on British streets and we call on sides, all community leaders, all involved to call for calm at a time of tension in the region,” Foreign office minister Hamish Falconer told parliament.
When Falconer appeared in parliament to answer an urgent question on the situation, lawmakers raised concerns about media reports of ill-tempered protests outside India and Pakistan’s high commissions in London.
Britain updated its travel advice following the attack, advising against all travel to the region of Jammu and Kashmir, with certain exceptions.
The British government’s long-standing position is that India and Pakistan are responsible for finding a solution to the situation in Kashmir that takes into account the wishes of the Kashmiri people, Falconer told parliament.

Topics: Pakistan India Ties Pahalgam attack

Pakistani pilgrims depart from multiple cities as Islamabad begins Hajj flight operation

Updated 30 April 2025
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Pakistani pilgrims depart from multiple cities as Islamabad begins Hajj flight operation

  • Over 89,000 pilgrims will travel under the government’s scheme during Pakistan’s Hajj flight operation
  • They will travel to Makkah, Madinah via 342 flights, with the last one departing from Pakistan on May 31
Updated 30 April 2025
SAIMA SHABBIR & NAIMAT KHAN

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan kicked off its 33-day-long Hajj flight operation on Tuesday, the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) said, with flights departing from Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi and Quetta for the Saudi city of Madinah.
Over 89,000 pilgrims will travel under the government’s scheme during Pakistan’s Hajj flight operations. They will travel to Makkah and Madinah via 342 flights in total, with the last one departing from Pakistan on May 31.
The first Hajj flight for this year, Pakistan International Airlines’ PK-713, departed under the Route to Makkah Initiative from Islamabad at 4:45am, carrying 442 pilgrims. The second flight left the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore at 8:30am, with 147 pilgrims aboard, according to the PAA. The third flight left Quetta with 151 pilgrims and the fourth from Karachi, carrying 285 pilgrims.
Religious Affairs Minister Sardar Muhammad Yousaf and Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki bid farewell to the pilgrims in Islamabad. Yousaf advised Pakistani pilgrims to strictly adhere to Saudi Arabia’s laws and respect the local culture during the annual Islamic pilgrimage and said he would “soon” travel to Saudi Arabia to review Hajj arrangements.
“As Hajj pilgrims, you are traveling to the sacred land as the guests of Allah and ambassadors of Pakistan, and you are urged to respect the laws and culture of Saudi Arabia,” the minister said in a televised address.
“I will take every possible measure to resolve the issues faced by Pakistani pilgrims in Saudi Arabia and will personally be among them to provide facilities.”
The Makkah Route Initiative is designed to streamline immigration processes by enabling pilgrims to complete official travel formalities at their departure airports. Initially tested in Islamabad in 2019, the program was later expanded to Karachi, benefitting tens of thousands of Pakistani travelers. This saves pilgrims several hours upon arrival in the Kingdom, as they can simply enter the country without having to go through immigration again.
Around 50,500 Pakistani pilgrims will travel to Saudi Arabia under the initiative this year. The scheme was launched in 2019 by the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah and has been implemented in five countries: Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Morocco and Bangladesh.
A total of 28,400 pilgrims will leave for Saudi Arabia through 100 flights from the Islamabad airport, Pakistan’s religious affairs ministry said. Seven special immigration counters have been set up at the Islamabad airport to facilitate pilgrims under the Makkah Route Initiative. The remaining 22,500 pilgrims will avail the scheme at the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi.
This year’s annual pilgrimage will take place in June.
In Karachi, the departure ceremony was attended by Saudi Arabia’s Consul General Muhammad bin Nasser Al-Subaie, representatives from the Ministry of Religious Affairs, and senior officials from various airport agencies.
“Special arrangements were made at the airport for the pilgrims, including dedicated check-in counters, guidance services, and improved facilities to ensure a smooth and comfortable travel experience,” the PAA said.
“Officials extended their best wishes to the pilgrims for a safe and spiritually fulfilling journey. The Saudi consul general praised the excellent coordination and arrangements made for Hajj operations.”
Punjab Minister for Specialized Healthcare Khawaja Salman Rafique and Balochistan Governor Sheikh Jaffar Mandokhail attended departure ceremonies in Lahore and Quetta, respectively.
Rafique appreciated efforts of the PAA and all concerned departments in ensuring a smooth conduct of Hajj operations and extended his heartfelt wishes to the pilgrims for a safe and peaceful journey.
Balochistan Director Hajj Ilyas Jaffar and representatives of other agencies were present alongside Balochistan Governor Mandokhail at the departure ceremony in Quetta.
“The Honourable governor and other dignitaries requested special prayers for the prosperity of Pakistan and the continued success of all institutions,” the PAA said.

Topics: Hajj 2025

Pakistan won’t strike first but will respond forcefully to Indian escalation — deputy PM

Updated 30 April 2025
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Pakistan won’t strike first but will respond forcefully to Indian escalation — deputy PM

  • Ishaq Dar says Pakistan shared its concerns with countries like Saudi Arabia following tensions with India
  • The deputy PM says he suspects India may have staged tourist shootings to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty
Updated 30 April 2025
Kashaf Rehman

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said on Tuesday Islamabad would not be the first to strike India despite heightened tensions following a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, though it would respond forcefully to any escalatory move by its eastern neighbor.
India has blamed Pakistan for the April 22 assault in the Pahalgam area of the disputed Himalayan region that left 26 tourists dead, an allegation Islamabad has categorically rejected.
In the aftermath, New Delhi suspended the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) and expelled Pakistani diplomats. The latter move was reciprocated by the administration in Islamabad, though it also called for a “neutral” international investigation into the Pahalgam incident.
Dar, who also serves as his country’s foreign minister, shared the details of Pakistan’s diplomatic outreach while addressing the Senate earlier today.
“As of now, we’ve spoken to the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, China, the United Kingdom, Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Hungary — except in the case of Qatar, where I spoke directly to the prime minister,” Dar told lawmakers.
“I walked them through what happened — India’s psyche, its history and our concerns about what intentions it may have in light of that history,” he continued.
Dar said Pakistan’s intelligence indicated that India was contemplating some form of escalation.
“We will not be the first one [to strike],” he said. “But if India does it, then this time there will be no tit-for-tat. Our response will be stronger than the Indian action.”
Referring to the 2019 Pulwama attack that killed 40 Indian paramilitary personnel and was blamed on a Pakistan-based militant group, the Pakistani deputy prime minister noted that New Delhi had used the incident as a pretext to revoke Article 370 of its constitution, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
The region was subsequently absorbed into India’s union territory framework, a move Pakistan has repeatedly condemned.
Dar also claimed that India had been attempting to alter the 1960 Indus Water Treaty, which determines the river water sharing mechanism between both countries, for the past two years, citing changing circumstances.
“I have my doubt, much like other people, that this drama was staged to suspend this treaty,” he said while referring to the Pahalgam attack.
“We obviously don’t have evidence that they have staged this drama,” he continued. “What we do say with full confidence is that Pakistan has nothing to do with this [attack].”
Dar also applauded China and Türkiye for expressing clear support for Pakistan since the crisis began.

Topics: Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar Pahalgam attack India Pakista War

Detained Pakistan rights activist ends hunger strike

Updated 29 April 2025
AFP
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Detained Pakistan rights activist ends hunger strike

  • Mahrang Baloch, 32, was arrested last month on charges of terrorism, sedition and murder
  • The judiciary has declined to rule on Baloch’s detention for over a month, halting any appeal
Updated 29 April 2025
AFP

QUETTA: Jailed activist Mahrang Baloch, a leading campaigner for Pakistan’s Baloch minority, has ended a hunger strike after a court asked authorities to justify her detention, her lawyer told AFP on Tuesday.
Mahrang Baloch, 32, was arrested last month on charges of terrorism, sedition and murder.
Security forces are battling a growing insurgency in her native Balochistan, an impoverished province that borders Afghanistan and Iran.
Rights groups say the violence has been countered with a severe crackdown that has swept up innocent people.
Mahrang and four other detained activists from her organization, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), had stopped eating on Thursday in protest against alleged misconduct by police and ill-treatment the activists claim to have been subjected to in detention.
The judiciary has declined to rule on Mahrang’s detention for more than a month, effectively halting any appeal and placing the matter solely in the hands of the provincial government.
But the Balochistan High Court agreed on Monday to consider an application to overturn her administrative detention, her lawyer Imran Baloch told AFP. Mahrang’s detention was renewed for a second month a week ago.
“Petition got admitted by high court and notices were issued to government,” the lawyer said, adding that a hearing was scheduled for Wednesday.
Mahrang and the other activists agreed to end their hunger strike after meeting with her family and lawyers on Monday, Imran Baloch said.
A group of 13 UN human rights experts expressed concern on Tuesday over the detention of BYC leaders and their supporters.
“Pakistan appears to conflate legitimate human and minority rights advocacy and public demonstrations with terrorism, threatening freedoms of expression, assembly, and association,” the independent experts, who are appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council, said in a statement.
They also noted the ban on several Baloch activists from leaving the country, which includes Mahrang.
A dozen UN experts called on Pakistan last month to immediately release Baloch rights advocates, including Mahrang, and to end the repression of their peaceful protests.
For two decades, members of the Baloch minority have denounced extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances and arbitrary arrests in Balochistan — Pakistan’s most resource-rich province, where 70 percent of inhabitants are poor.
Pakistani authorities say the accusations are unfounded.
Insurgents in Balochistan accuse outsiders of plundering the province’s natural resources and launched a dramatic train siege in March, during which officials said about 60 people were killed.

Topics: Mahrang Baloch

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