ISLAMABAD – At least five paramilitary personnel were killed and six others injured in a roadside bomb attack targeting a security convoy in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province on Tuesday, security sources said.
The incident happened at about 11:45 a.m. local time (0645 GMT) in the Kachhi district, when an improvised explosive device struck a Frontier Corps convoy, the sources told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
“The convoy, comprising six vehicles, was on a routine movement when the explosion took place, resulting in the deaths and injuries,” officials confirmed.
Tourists stand at a view point at Pir Chinasi, a tourist attraction in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, May 4, 2025. REUTERS
SRINAGAR,/PIR CHINASI, Pakistan – Hotels and houseboats in Indian Kashmir are offering discounts of up to 70% after travellers fled following a deadly attack.
On the Pakistani side, a tourist hotspot just on the border was sealed off as war cries between the foes grow louder.
Residents in the divided Himalayan region known for its snow-covered peaks, fast-running streams and majestic Mughal-era gardens rely heavily on tourism, but their livelihood has become one of the first victims of the latest hostilities between Pakistan and India.
The nuclear-armed neighbours have fought two wars over the disputed region, which they both claim in full while ruling in part, and skirmishes between troops stationed along the de facto border have made Kashmir the frontline of their discord.
But a sharp decline in militancy and a ceasefire that largely held for four years sparked a tourism boom, sending more than 3 million travellers to the Indian side of Kashmir last year while nearly 1.5 million vacationed on the Pakistan side.
The influx had been touted as a major success story for the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose revocation of Kashmir’s autonomous status in 2019 led to massive unrest.
Hotels, houseboats and taxis were nearly fully booked at the start of the peak summer season this year too, before the attack last month on tourists killed 26 men in a meadow.
India has blamed Pakistan for the attack and announced a series of diplomatic and economic steps against the neighbour.
Pakistan has denied any role, unveiled tit-for-tat measures, and warned of an imminent military strike by India.
Yaseen Tuman, who runs a more than 100-year-old travel agency and operates multiple houseboats in Srinagar, the main city of Indian Kashmir, said that nearly all his customers had cancelled bookings and his houseboats were empty.
“Our houseboats were packed and now we have no guests,” Tuman told Reuters, sitting on a wooden sofa in one of the houseboats on Nigeen Lake.
Indian travel booking websites show houseboats and hotels offering heavy discounts, but Tuman said he won’t cut rates because he did not expect tourists to come in big numbers anyway.
“We will have to prepare for a long lull.”
‘GOING TO HURT BADLY’
On the other side in Pir Chinasi, located at an altitude of 9,500 feet, roadside restaurants, hotels and guesthouses were sparsely occupied after authorities advised caution, fearing an Indian strike, though it is not so close to the de facto border.
Neelum Valley, which lies on the border and is one of the most favoured tourist destinations in Pakistan, is out of bounds for now, authorities say.
All the nearly 370 hotels and guesthouses in the valley are now empty, said Abrar Ahmad Butt, spokesperson for the hotels and guesthouses association of the region. Tourists typically throng the place starting in May as temperatures soar in rest of the country.
“It’s going to hurt badly this season,” he said.
An aerial view shows house boats in the waters of Dal Lake in Srinagar, Kashmir, April 29, 2025. REUTERS
Tourism employs around 16,000 people in the region.
For Syed Yasir Ali, who works at a foreign mission in Islamabad, not being able to go to Neelum Valley may have been a dampener but he felt no fear in visiting Pir Chinasi with his wife and three sons.
“This side is safe”, he said, suggesting that others were wrongly fearful of visiting.
“I am on the ground, it is safe.”
But the fear is having real economic consequences for a tuck shop run by Musaddiq Hussain.
“Business is completely down,” he said.
“We should have peace in the country, so that we could prosper.
“We want both countries to have peace.”
In Srinagar, taxi driver Tanveer rues the lost opportunity.
“The streets were packed, there was no place to drive in the city before the horrific killing,” he said, giving only one name.
“I wait for a passenger all day. Before the attack, I had no time to take on more work.”
NEW DELHI – Amid escalating tension, the troops of India and Pakistan exchanged heavy fire and targeted each other’s positions Monday on the Line of Control (LoC), an Indian army official said.
“During the intervening night of May 4 and 5, Pakistan army posts resorted to unprovoked small arms fire across the LoC in areas opposite Kupwara, Baramulla, Poonch, Rajouri, Mendhar, Naushera, Sunderbani and Akhnoor,” an Indian army official was quoted in local media. “Indian army responded promptly and proportionately.”
Monday marked the 11th straight day of ceasefire violations on the volatile LoC, according to the Indian side.
Tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated following a deadly attack on tourists in Pahalgam in the Indian-controlled Kashmir on April 22.
On Monday, New Delhi temporarily cut off the flow of water from Chenab river to Pakistan, Indian media reports said.
On the same day, Pakistan conducted a successful training launch of its surface-to-surface FATAH Series missile with a range of 120 km, the military said in a statement.
Pakistan paramilitary soldiers stand guard at a checkpoint near Wagah, a joint border crossing point between the Pakistan and India border, April 24, 2025. AP
ISLAMABAD/BELA NOOR SHAH, Pakistan – Pakistan carried out a second missile test in three days on Monday after saying it was preparing for an incursion by India, as Moody’s warned that the standoff over violence in Kashmir could set back Islamabad’s economic reforms.
Relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours have nosedived since gunmen killed 26 people on April 22 in an attack targeting Hindu tourists in Indian Kashmir, the worst such assault on civilians in India in nearly two decades.
India has accused Pakistan of involvement. Islamabad has denied the allegations but said it has intelligence that New Delhi intends to launch military action against it soon.
The diplomatic flare-up and exchanges of small arms fire across the border in Kashmir has alarmed world and regional powers.
Moody’s said the standoff could hurt Pakistan’s $350 billion economy, which is on a path to recovery after securing a $7 billion bailout programme from the International Monetary Fund last year and staving off a default threat.
“Sustained escalation in tensions with India would likely weigh on Pakistan’s growth and hamper the government’s ongoing fiscal consolidation, setting back Pakistan’s progress in achieving macroeconomic stability,” Moody’s said.
“A persistent increase in tensions could also impair Pakistan’s access to external financing and pressure its foreign-exchange reserves,” it added.
The report comes two days after Reuters reported that India has asked the IMF to review its loans to Pakistan.
India’s economy is not expected to see major disruptions since it has “minimal economic relations” with Pakistan – although higher defence spending could weigh on New Delhi’s fiscal strength and slow fiscal consolidation, Moody’s added.
MISSILE TEST
The Himalayan region of Kashmir lies at the heart of decades of hostility, between Hindu-majority India and Islamist Pakistan, both of which claim it in full but rule it in part.
India has accused its neighbour of supporting Islamist separatists battling security forces in its part of the region. Pakistan says it only provides diplomatic and moral support for Kashmiris seeking self-determination.
The Pakistani army said it had tested a Fatah series surface-to-surface missile with a range of 120 km (75 miles), two days after a successful launch of the Abdali surface-to-surface ballistic missile with a range of 450 km.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the successful test launch “made it clear that Pakistan’s defence is in strong hands”.
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told visiting journalists that there was no communication channel open with India at the moment.
The missile test came as Iran’s foreign minister, who earlier said his country was ready to help India and Pakistan “forge greater understanding” after the attack, was in Pakistan to meet leaders. He will visit India on Thursday.
Russia said on Monday it was following the situation with great concern and that it valued its ties with both countries.
President Vladimir Putin “strongly condemned” the Kashmir attack in a call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and expressed full support to India in its “fight against terrorism”, India’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on X.
Pakistan said on Monday it will “formally apprise” the United Nations Security Council of the situation and call upon it “to exercise its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security by taking appropriate measures”.
ISLAMABAD – Pakistan test fired a ballistic missile Saturday as tensions with India spiked over last month’s deadly attack on tourists in the disputed Kashmir region.
The surface-to-surface missile has a range of 450 kilometers (about 280 miles), the Pakistani military said. There was no immediate comment about the launch from India, which blames Pakistan for the April 22 gun massacre in the resort town of Pahalgam, a charge Pakistan denies.
Pakistan’s military said the launch of the Abdali Weapon System was aimed at ensuring the “operational readiness of troops and validating key technical parameters,” including the missile’s advanced navigation system and enhanced maneuverability features.
Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated those behind the successful test. Missiles are not fired toward the border area with India; they are normally fired into the Arabian Sea or the deserts of southwest Balochistan province.
Islamabad-based security analyst Syed Muhammad Ali said Saturday’s missile was named after a prominent Muslim conqueror of India, underlining its symbolic significance.
“The timing of this launch is critical in the current geopolitical context,” Ali told The Associated Press. He said the test was intended as a strategic signal to India after it had threatened to suspend a crucial water-sharing treaty.
India’s navy said on April 27 that its vessels had successfully undertaken anti-ship firings to “revalidate and demonstrate readiness of platforms, systems and crew for long-range precision offensive strike.”
Ashok Malik, a former policy advisor in India’s Foreign Ministry, said there was anger across the country following the gun attack. The 26 victims came from 13 different states.
“Internationally, there is enormous sympathy for India and little patience with Pakistan,” said Malik. “I don’t believe anybody in India wants a full-fledged war. Even so, there is domestic pressure and diplomatic space for a sharp, targeted, and limited response.”
The ongoing “muscle flexing” by both countries’ troops was reflective of the tense mood and also apparent in the “unremitting hostilities” on the Line of Control, the de facto border dividing Kashmir, he said.
Kashmir is split between India and Pakistan and claimed by both in its entirety.
They have fought two of their three wars over the stunning Himalayan region and their ties have been shaped by conflict, aggressive diplomacy and mutual suspicion, mostly due to their competing claims over Kashmir.
The latest flare-up led the two countries to expel each other’s diplomats and nationals, as well as the shuttering of airspace.
On Saturday, India suspended the exchange of all mail from Pakistan through air and surface routes and slapped an immediate ban on the direct and indirect import of all goods from its neighbor.
India has also banned Pakistani-flagged ships from entering its ports and prohibited Indian-flagged vessels from visiting Pakistani ports.
India’s military said Saturday that Pakistani troops had fired at positions across the border for a ninth consecutive night. The statement called the firing unprovoked and said Indian troops “responded promptly and proportionately.”
Pakistan did not confirm the exchange of fire at the Line of Control.
The incident could not be independently verified. In the past, each side has accused the other of starting border skirmishes.
NEW DELHI – India said it has banned the import of goods originating from or transiting via Pakistan as diplomatic tensions between the two nuclear-armed nations flared in the wake of a deadly attack on tourists in disputed Kashmir region.
India’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade in a notification said the ban will take effect immediately.
“This restriction is imposed in the interest of national security and public policy,” it said.
Suspected militants killed at least 26 tourists in last week’s attack on a mountain destination in the Pahalgam area of the Kashmir valley.
The Muslim-majority Himalayan region is claimed by both India and Pakistan, and has been the site of multiple wars, insurgency and diplomatic standoffs.
India has accused Pakistan of involvement in the attack, which Islamabad denies. Pakistan said it has “credible intelligence” that India intends to launch military action.
Pakistan also announced retaliatory measures that have included halting all border trade, closing its airspace to Indian carriers and expelling Indian diplomats.
It has also warned that any attempt to prevent the flow of river water promised under a decades-old treaty between the two nations would be considered an act of war.
Trade between the two nations has dwindled over the last few years.
Asadullah Mir prepares food outside his house as his wife looks on, in Tilawari village, near the Line of Control (LoC) between India and Pakistan, in Uri, North Kashmir, May 1, 2025. REUTERS
CHURANDA, India/CHAKOTHI, Pakistan – Nestled between mountains in Indian-administered Kashmir, teachers lead school children in the village of Churanda in morning prayers, asking that the sound of swaying walnut trees and cooing birds not be replaced by the roaring of artillery.
Though children attended class as usual, “fear among the parents is running high” said teacher Farooq Ahmad, following a deadly attack on tourists which many on both sides of the line of control that divides the region worry could lead to conflict.
India and Pakistan have fought two wars over Kashmir, and countless clashes at the border over the decades. So residents have become used to watching and waiting with dread when tensions between the neighbours soar.
Suspected militants killed at least 26 tourists in last week’s attack on a mountain beauty spot. India has blamed Pakistan for involvement, which Islamabad denies. Pakistan said it has “credible intelligence” that India intends to launch military action soon.
From Churanda, both Pakistani and Indian soldiers can be seen at their outposts. Elders say at least 18 people have been killed in the village in firing between the two sides over the last few decades.
“There are six bunkers in the village for the population of 1500. Both sides are threatening each other. If there is border escalation, where will we go? Fear is there as this village is the worst hit,” said Abdul Aziz, a 25-year old resident.
SUPPLIES FOR TWO MONTHS
On the opposite, Pakistani administered side of the line that divides control of the region, residents of Chakothi village prepared fortified shelters that dot the hillsides near their homes.
“People have built bunkers in their homes. They go in the bunkers whenever there is some firing,” said Faizan Anayat, 22, who was visiting family on a trip back to Kashmir from the city of Rawalpindi where he works as an air conditioning technician.
One of his neighbours, Mohammad Nazir, 73, took a break from preparing the bunker to go to the mosque for Friday prayers as his family’s children played cricket near its entrance.
“We are not afraid of anything,” said Nazir. “Every one of our kids is ready.”
In the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, Muzaffarabad, authorities say they have prepared a 1 billion Pakistani rupee ($3.5 million) emergency fund and sent enough food, water and health supplies to villages along the line of control to last for two months.
Authorities had closed all religious seminaries in the region for 10 days, officials said on Thursday, citing fears they would be targeted by Indian strikes.
They have also moved equipment to areas near the line of control to repair any damage to roads, and instructed rescue and civil defence authorities to be on high alert, the Pakistan-administered Kashmir prime minister’s office said.
The head of the Kashmir branch of the Pakistan Red Crescent, Gulzar Fatima, said as soon as the relief group saw tensions rise, they began to mobilise supplies and staff, including first aid providers.
In the event of Indian military action, they expect a large scale migration of people from around the line of control, and were preparing relief camps with tents, hygiene kits and cooking equipment for at least 500 families, she said.
Local women stand outside their house comprising of an underground bunker in the Chakothi village of Pakistan-administered Kashmir. (AFP)
MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan – Pakistan-administered Kashmir called on residents near the de facto border with the Indian side of the region to stockpile food on Friday as tensions flare between the arch-rivals following a deadly attack last month.
India blames Pakistan for the attack by gunmen on civilians at the tourist site of Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22 that killed 26 men.
Islamabad has rejected the charge.
The two nuclear-armed countries have exchanged gunfire for eight consecutive nights along the militarized Line of Control, the de facto border, according to the Indian army, and the uneasy neighbors have issued a raft of tit-for-tat punitive diplomatic measures.
“Instructions have been issued to stock food supplies for two months in the 13 constituencies along the Line of Control (LoC),” the prime minister of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, Chaudhry Anwar ul Haq, told the local assembly on Friday.
The regional government has also created an emergency fund of one billion rupees ($3.5 million) to ensure the supply of “food, medicines and all other basic necessities” to the 13 constituencies, he said.
Government and privately owned machinery was also being deployed to maintain roads in the areas along the LoC, he said.
The attack in Indian Kashmir and subsequent tensions, including expulsions and closed border crossings, have raised fears of a conflagration between India and Pakistan.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday gave the military “complete operational freedom” to respond to the attack.
Pakistan has denied any involvement and has said it has “credible evidence” that India is planning an imminent military strike, vowing that any attack would be met with a response.
Fearing a military escalation, authorities in Pakistani Kashmir shut more than 1,000 religious schools for 10 days on Thursday.
India and Pakistan, which both claim Kashmir in full, have fought over the Himalayan territory since the end of British rule in 1947.
ISLAMABAD – Eight members of a family were killed when their car fell into a deep ravine in Pakistan’s northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, officials said.
The accident occurred on Thursday evening in Kohistan district along the Karakoram Highway, an official of the state-run Rescue 1122, told Xinhua.
A child from Pakistan places his hand on barbed wire as he waits to go to Pakistan at the Attari-Wagah border crossing, after India revoked visas and suspended visa services to Pakistani citizens, following an attack on tourists near Pahalgam in south Kashmir, near Amritsar, India May 1, 2025. REUTERS
MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan – The government of Pakistan-administered Kashmir has closed all religious seminaries in the region for 10 days, officials said on Thursday, citing fears they would be targeted by Indian strikes following a deadly attack on tourists in Indian Kashmir.
Islamabad says it has credible intelligence that India intends to launch military action soon, with New Delhi alleging that the attack on tourists was carried out by Pakistani nationals with ties to Islamist organisations based there.
The director of Pakistani Kashmir’s Department of Religious Affairs, Hafiz Nazir Ahmad, told Reuters that security officials feared Indian forces may target seminaries and label them as militant training centres.
The notification seen by Reuters, dated April 30, only cited a heatwave as the reason for the closure.
“Right now, we are facing two kinds of heat — one from the weather and the other from (Indian Prime Minister) Modi,” Ahmad said of the notification, saying they did not mention the risk of attacks in a bid to avoid panic.
India’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. India has previously targeted sites in Pakistan alleging they were bases of Islamist militants close to the Kashmir border.
“We held a meeting yesterday in which it was unanimously decided not to put innocent children at risk,” Ahmad said. The President’s Office of Pakistani Kashmir also said the closure was due to “precautionary reasons.”
There are 445 registered seminaries with over 26,000 students enrolled in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, according to the religious affairs department.
The seminaries – locally known as madrasas – are Islamic educational institutions run by religious organisations, providing cheap, often free, alternatives to regular schools.
Pakistan has said it will respond “assuredly and decisively” to any military action from India, raising the spectre of war between the two nuclear-armed countries.
Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is claimed in full, but ruled in parts by both India and Pakistan, and has been the site of two wars and multiple skirmishes.
Many Muslims in Indian Kashmir have long resented what they see as heavy-handed rule by India. In 1989, an insurgency by Muslim separatists began. India poured troops into the region and tens of thousands of people have been killed.
India accuses Pakistan of arming and training militants, which Islamabad denies, saying it offers only moral and diplomatic support. Seminaries have been criticised for radicalising youth towards Islamist extremism.
