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Pakistan’s army announced on Tuesday a new death toll of 40 civilians and 11 military service members killed last week in the worst confrontation with India in decades.The nuclear-armed neighbours engaged in four days of tit-for-tat strikes that threatened to escalate into all-out war before US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire Saturday he said Washington brokered.Pakistan’s army said in a statement that India’s “unprovoked and reprehensible dastardly attacks” killed 40 civilians, including seven women and 15 children.”While defending the motherland with exemplary valour, 11 personnel of the Pakistan Armed Forces embraced martyrdom and 78 were wounded,” it said.”Let there be no ambiguity: any attempt to challenge Pakistan’s sovereignty or territorial integrity, ever again, shall be met with a swift, full-spectrum, and decisive response”, it added.Previously Pakistan’s official toll was 33 civilians with no military losses.India has said that 15 civilians and five soldiers died.Despite mutual claims on initial violations, the ceasefire still appeared to be holding on Tuesday.Trump said Monday that US intervention had prevented a “bad nuclear war”.”We stopped a nuclear conflict… millions of people could have been killed. So I’m very proud of that,” he told reporters at the White House.Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a televised address to the nation on Monday that Pakistan has chosen to attack rather than help it fight “terrorism”.”If another terrorist attack against India is carried out, a strong response will be given,” he said.A post from his account on X Tuesday said he had met with service members involved in the conflict.”It was a very special experience to be with those who epitomise courage, determination and fearlessness. India is eternally grateful to our armed forces for everything they do for our nation.,” he said.The latest flare-up followed an April 22 attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir which killed 26 people.India accused Pakistan of backing the attack, but Islamabad denied involvement.- ‘Terrorist camps’ -The fighting began before dawn last Wednesday, when India launched missile attacks destroying what it called “terrorist camps” in the Pakistan-administered part of Kashmir.Each side then accused the other of launching waves of warplane and drone strikes, as well as missile and artillery bombardments that killed at least 60 people on both sides.”If Pakistan wants to survive, it will have to destroy its terror infrastructure,” Modi said Monday.”India will strike with precision and decisiveness against the terrorist groups thriving under the cover of nuclear blackmail.”India’s stand is very clear. Terror and talks cannot go together… Terror and trade cannot go together… Water and blood cannot flow together.”The flare-up in violence was the worst since the rivals’ last open conflict in 1999 and sparked global shudders that it could spiral into full-blown war.Pakistan’s military statement Tuesday listed the highest ranked service member to be killed in the latest conflict as an airforce squadron leader.The military has said it downed five Indian jets, but has not admitted losing any aircraft of its own.India has not disclosed losing any aircraft.burs-stu/fox

India and Pakistan have announced a ceasefire after coming close to all-out conflict, but on social media citizens on both sides are vying to control public perceptions by peddling disinformation.Platforms such as Facebook and X are still awash with misrepresented footage of the attacks that killed at least 60 people and sent thousands fleeing. AFP fact-checkers have debunked many of the clips, which actually show the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or the war in Ukraine.Indian and Pakistani media outlets have also amplified misinformation, including false or unverifiable claims of military victories that experts say have exacerbated tensions and contributed to a flood of hate speech.”It’s complicated to establish the military facts because, in addition to the reality of strikes that are difficult to ascertain, there’s a communication war going on,” said General Dominique Trinquand, an international relations analyst and former head of the French military mission to the United Nations.Disinformation peaked when India launched deadly air strikes on Wednesday targeting “terrorist camps” in Pakistan, two weeks after a deadly attack on the Indian-run side of disputed Kashmir.New Delhi blames Islamabad for backing the April 22 attack near the tourist town of Pahalgam, which killed 26 people — almost all of them Hindu men. Pakistan denies the claim.After the first round of Indian air strikes, the Pakistani military shared footage that had previously circulated in reports about a 2023 Israeli air strike in Gaza. The clip quickly appeared on television and social media but was later retracted by numerous media outlets, including AFP.AI-generated imagery has also muddied the waters, including a video that purportedly shows a Pakistan Army general saying the country lost two of its aircraft. AFP fact-checkers found the clip was altered from a 2024 press conference.”We have seen a new wave of AI-based content in both video and still images due to increased access to deepfake tools,” said Joyojeet Pal, an associate professor in the School of Information at the University of Michigan.- Cyber alert, social media crackdown -Both India and Pakistan have taken advantage of the information vacuum to raise alarm bells and promote their own claims and counter-claims.Pakistan appears to have lifted a more than one-year-old ban on X the same day of the Indian strikes, according to an AFP analysis of data from the nonprofit Open Observatory of Network Interference.”In a time of crisis, the government needed its people’s voice to be heard all around the world and not to be silenced anymore like it was before for domestic political purposes,” said Usama Khilji, a digital rights expert and activist in Pakistan.The country’s National Cyber Emergency Response Team (NCERT) on May 8 issued an alert about “increased cyberattacks and misinformation via emails, social media, QR codes, and messaging apps”.Both Pakistan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Karachi Port Trust later said their X accounts had been hacked.A post from the latter account said the port — one of South Asia’s busiest — was attacked by the Indian military. The page was later restored and the port authority said no attack had taken place.India, meanwhile, has executed a sweeping crackdown targeting the social media accounts of Pakistani politicians, celebrities and media organisations.The government ordered X to block more than 8,000 accounts and banned more than a dozen Pakistani YouTube channels for allegedly spreading “provocative” content, including news outlets.Press Information Bureau (PIB) Fact Check, a government-run website, has also refuted more than 60 claims about the ongoing crisis, many having to do with supposed Pakistani military victories.- ‘Cyclical relationship’ -The avalanche of disinformation online has been accompanied by a spike in hate speech offline.A report from the US-based India Hate Lab documented 64 in-person hate speech events between April 22 and May 2. Most were filmed and later shared on social media.”There is a cyclical relationship between offline hate speech and the rise of harmful online content,” said Raqib Hameed Naik, executive director of the Center for the Study of Organized Hate.He said the Pahalgam attack sparked in India a “significant surge in rallies where far-right leaders weaponised the tragedy to incite hate and violence against Muslim Indians and Kashmiris.”Several clips online show people dressed in Hindu garb calling for economic boycotts of minority Muslims. Rallies in the northern Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand have seen similar incendiary speeches.Now that a ceasefire has been declared, Naik warned that hate speech “will once again refocus on religious minorities.””The war machine may have paused, but the hate machinery never stops. I worry it might return with a greater force.”

A Myanmar junta airstrike hit a school Monday killing 22 people, including 20 children, witnesses said, despite a purported humanitarian ceasefire called to help the Southeast Asian nation recover from a devastating earthquake.The strike hit a school in the village of Oe Htein Kwin — around 100 kilometres (65 miles) northwest of the epicentre of the March 28 quake — at about 10:00 am (0330 GMT), locals said.UN chief Antonio Guterres is “deeply alarmed” by reports of the strike, his spokesman told reporters in New York, adding that “schools must remain areas in which children have a safe place to learn and not be bombed.”The green school building was a shattered husk on Monday afternoon, its metal roof crumpled with gaping holes blasted through its brickwork walls.Over a dozen abandoned book bags were piled before a pole flying the Myanmar flag outside, as parents chiselled small graves out of the hard earth to bury the shrouded bodies of their children.”For now 22 people in total — 20 children and two teachers — have been killed,” said a 34-year-old teacher at the school, asking to remain anonymous.”We tried to spread out the children, but the fighter was too fast and dropped its bombs,” she added. “I haven’t been able to collect all the casualty data as parents are in a rush.”An education official from the area of the village in Sagaing region gave the same toll.The junta information team said reports of the strike were “fabricated news”. “There was no airstrike on non-military targets,” it said in a statement.Myanmar has been riven by civil war since the military deposed a civilian government in 2021, with the junta suffering stinging losses to a myriad of anti-coup guerillas and long-active ethnic armed groups.But the military pledged a ceasefire throughout this month “to continue the rebuilding and rehabilitation process” after the magnitude 7.7 quake in Myanmar’s central belt that killed nearly 3,800 people.- ‘Needs are immense’ -Tens of thousands are still living outside after the catastrophic jolt demolished or badly damaged their homes, facing the prospect of the monsoon season starting in the coming weeks.”The needs are immense,” Jagan Chapagain, secretary general of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, told AFP on Monday.”My worry is that time is not on our side.”The United Nations and independent conflict monitors say the junta has continued its campaign of aerial bombardment despite the armistice meant to alleviate suffering.Last week, the UN said that since the earthquake more than 200 civilians had been killed in at least 243 military attacks, including 171 airstrikes.In its ceasefire declaration, the military warned it would take “necessary defensive measures” if pressed by its opponents.Numerous anti-coup and ethnic armed groups have made own pledges to pause hostilities. However during the truce some residents in eastern Myanmar said they have been displaced as anti-coup forces besieged junta-held towns on a lucrative trade route towards neighbouring Thailand.The March earthquake saw the ground shear up to six metres (20 feet) in places, according to NASA analysis — levelling apartments, opening yawning holes in roads and collapsing one major bridge.The relief response is also being hobbled by funding shortfalls after US President Donald Trump slashed Washington’s international aid budget.

The remainder of the Indian Premier League will be played between May 17 and June 3 across six venues, the country’s cricket board announced Monday.The T20 tournament was paused last week due to clashes between India and Pakistan, but the Board of Control for Cricket in India has decided to stage the 17 outstanding matches following a ceasefire agreement.”After extensive consultations with government and security agencies, and with all the key stakeholders, the board has decided to proceed with the remainder of the season,” the BCCI said in a statement.Royal Challengers Bengaluru will host defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday followed by one of two double-headers Sunday.Jaipur, Delhi, Lucknow, Mumbai and Ahmedabad are the other host cities for the remaining league phase matches.The venues for the four play-off ties, including the final on June 3, will be announced later.The original hosts for the playoffs were Hyderabad and Kolkata, with the final at Eden Gardens on May 25.The first qualifier will now be on May 29, followed by the eliminator on May 30. The second qualifier is slated for June 1 and the final two days later.Nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan had called a halt to hostilities on Saturday.The IPL was suspended for a week last Friday, a day after a match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals was abandoned in Dharamsala, less than 200 kilometres (125 miles) from the northern city of Jammu, where explosions were reported hours earlier.A special train was arranged for players to return to Delhi on Friday as airspace was closed, while overseas stars began to head home on Saturday.India and Pakistan have fought two of their three full-scale wars over Kashmir, a disputed territory that both claim in full but administer separate portions of since gaining independence from British rule in 1947.New Delhi launched missile strikes on Wednesday morning in retaliation for a deadly attack on tourists in Indian-run Kashmir two weeks ago that India blames on Pakistan.Islamabad has denied any involvement.At least 60 people have been killed on both sides of the border since Wednesday, in the worst violence in decades between the South Asian neighbours.

Dozens trekked to Nepal’s Yala glacier for a ceremony Monday to mark its rapid disappearance due to climate change and put a spotlight on global glacial retreat.The Yala glacier, located between 5,170 and 5,750 metres above sea level, is in the Langtang Valley in northern Nepal.Since 1974, the glacier has shrunk in area by 66 percent and retreated 784 meters, according to the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development(ICIMOD). Scientists warn it may eventually disappear by the 2040s if the warming trend continues, and might be among the first in Nepal to join the growing numbers of glaciers declared “dead” worldwide.”In the 40 years I have studies this glacier, I have seen it halve with my own eyes. We worry that the next generation might not be able to see it,” Sharad Prasad Joshi, a cryosphere specialist at ICIMOD, told AFP.Prayer flags fluttered Monday as Buddhist monks performed a ceremony for Yala, with the Himalayas towering behind them. Two granite plaques were unveiled engraved with memorial messages in Nepali, English and Tibetan.”This monument is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it,” part of the message in one of the plaques read. The words were by Icelandic writer Andri Snaer Magnason, whose message is also at the site of the world’s first glacier funeral in Iceland. Glacier funerals have also been held in Mexico, the United States and Switzerland.  The ceremony comes as the world marked near-record high global temperatures in April, according to the EU’s climate monitor.In its latest bulletin, the Copernicus Climate Change Service said that April was the second-hottest in its dataset, which draws on billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations.All but one of the last 22 months exceeded 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the warming limit enshrined in the Paris agreement, beyond which major and lasting climate and environmental changes become more likely.-‘Time to act’-Yala is one of seven glaciers in the 3,500 kilometre-long arc of the Hindu Kush Himalayas to have been monitored annually for a decade or more, according to ICIMOD. Joshi said that the ceremony was also to honour the glacier as it has been an “open textbook” for young researchers and glaciologists. Himalayan glaciers, providing critical water to nearly two billion people, are melting faster than ever before due to climate change, exposing communities to unpredictable and costly disasters.Experts say that on current melt rates, many glaciers worldwide will not survive the 21st century. Last month, the United Nations said that all 19 of the world’s glacier regions experienced a net loss of mass in 2024 for the third consecutive year.Together, they lost 450 billion tonnes of mass, the organization said, citing new data from the Swiss-based World Glacier Monitoring Service.Maheshwar Dhakal, chief at the Nepal government’s climate change management division, said in a statement shared by ICIMOD that Nepal is at the frontlines of the impacts of temperature rise despite minimal emissions. “We are urging world leaders to pay attention to the changes in mountain glaciers, such as Yala, because our own fate, and futures, is bound up in those of our frozen freshwater reserves,” Dhakal said. “Glacier loss is irreversible on human timescales. The time to act is now.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed Monday to respond strongly to any future “terrorist attack”, and warned that New Delhi would not tolerate “nuclear blackmail” in the event of further conflict with Pakistan.A weekend ceasefire which US President Donald Trump said he brokered appeared to be holding Monday after four days of intense jetfighter, missile, drone and artillery attacks — the worst violence between the two nuclear-armed neighbours since 1999.Trump said Monday that US intervention had prevented a “bad nuclear war”.”We stopped a nuclear conflict… millions of people could have been killed. So I’m very proud of that,” he told reporters at the White House.Modi, in a televised address to the nation — his first since hostilities began last Wednesday — said Pakistan has chosen to attack rather than help it fight “terrorism”.”If another terrorist attack against India is carried out, a strong response will be given,” he said.The conflict followed an April 22 attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir which killed 26 civilians.India accused Pakistan of backing the attack, but Islamabad denied involvement.- Spiral to war -The alarming spiral towards all-out war began before dawn on Wednesday, when India launched missile attacks destroying what it called “terrorist camps” in the Pakistan-administered part of Kashmir.Each side then accused the other of launching waves of warplane and drone strikes, as well as missile and artillery bombardments that killed at least 60 people on both sides.”If Pakistan wants to survive, it will have to destroy its terror infrastructure,” Modi said Monday.”India will strike with precision and decisiveness against the terrorist groups thriving under the cover of nuclear blackmail.”India’s stand is very clear. Terror and talks cannot go together… Terror and trade cannot go together… Water and blood cannot flow together.”His address came after the Indian army reported the “first calm night in recent days” in disputed Kashmir and along its western border with Pakistan.The flare-up in violence was the worst since the rivals’ last open conflict in 1999 and sparked global shudders that it could spiral into full-blown war.The rivals also accused each other of breaching the ceasefire just hours after it was unexpectedly announced by Trump on social media on Saturday.- Both sides claim success -Top India and Pakistan military officials held briefings late Sunday with each claiming the upper hand and warning they were ready to respond if there were fresh attacks.”We have delivered the promise we made to our people”, Pakistan’s military spokesman Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said, calling it a “success on the battleground”.”We have thus far exercised immense restraint so far and our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory,” said Indian Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai.Pakistan claimed to have downed five Indian fighter jets — something New Delhi has not commented on.On Monday, people were trickling back to Poonch, a frontier town in Indian-administered and one of the worst-hit places.But thousands of schools remained closed across Pakistan-administered Kashmir as areas were cleared of debris from strikes and firing, said local official Naveed-Ul-Hassan Bukhari.India, meanwhile, reopened 32 airports on Monday that had been closed due to the conflict, authorities said.Militants have stepped up operations in Kashmir since 2019, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government revoked the region’s limited autonomy and took it under direct rule from New Delhi.Divided Muslim-majority Kashmir is claimed in full by both countries, who have fought several wars over the territory since their independence from Britain in 1947.Senior officers from Pakistan and India were reported to have spoken on Monday in order to further secure the ceasefire.Abdul Basit at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore said it would be about modalities of the ceasefire and not policy decisions.The aim is to “avoid any miscalculations, because right now one spark could quickly move towards a nuclear catastrophe,” Basit told AFP.

Expert teams on Monday defused unexploded bombs in India’s border areas with Pakistan before letting displaced Kashmiri villagers return home following a ceasefire between the nuclear-armed foes.Tens of thousands of people living on the Indian side of the divided Himalayan territory fled last week to escape intense artillery bombardment that reduced many homes to rubble.A truce announced Saturday ended four days of missile, drone and artillery attacks which killed dozens in India and Pakistan and was their worst conflict since 1999.Police had issued written statements warning people “NOT to under any circumstances approach, touch, tamper with, or attempt to move any suspicious object resembling an explosive shell or device.”Bomb disposal squads fanned out in Uri, near the de facto border with Pakistan, to ensure homes were completely safe before the inhabitants returned.”We started at homes where people had reported unexploded ordinance,” senior police officer Gurinderpal Singh told AFP.Singh declined to specify how many teams had been dispatched or where.- Delicate task -“Every piece of ordinance is unique and needs to be handled very carefully,” Singh said, adding that displaced villagers were only being allowed back into “areas that have been cleared.”Hundreds of border residents sheltering in government buildings were anxious to go home, waiting for authorities to declare their villages safe.”We were happy that a ceasefire happened and wanted to go home right away,” Mohammad Shafiq, a resident of Mohra village told AFP at a shelter around 30 kilometres (20 miles) from his house.His family of five was evacuated by the army after a bomb exploded in their village last week.”But officers told us not to return until any unexploded mortar shells were removed,” said the 47-year-old.Mareena, a 28-year-old mother of three, said she let her sheep out into the open before an army truck evacuated them to the shelter at Boniyar, around 50 kilometres from her border home.- ‘I want to go back’ -“I don’t know what has happened to my house,” Mareena said. “I want to go back but I am not confident yet. Anything can happen — we saved our lives with great difficulty.”Even those whose houses were destroyed by artillery shells were desperate to return.Basharat Hussain, 35, packed his family of nine in a car to make the journey home.”We want to go and see what can be salvaged and rebuilt,” Hussain told AFP as he waited near an army checkpoint, pleading with soldiers to let them go ahead.”We also have to look for our cows and other belongings,” he said, showing a video of his damaged home sent to his phone.Local reports said six of around 35 bombed villages in Uri were declared safe on Monday for residents to return.Videos showed authorities taking some displaced families from a shelter in buses back to their villages.Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947.They have since fought three wars over the disputed and divided territory they administer in parts. The latest fighting threatened to spiral towards all-out conflict before dawn on Wednesday, when India launched missile attacks destroying what it called “terrorist camps” in Pakistan and part of Kashmir Islamabad controls.The fighting followed an April 22 attack on tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir, which killed 26 civilians.India accused Pakistan of backing the attack but Islamabad denied involvement and immediately responded to the strikes with heavy artillery fire, fanning the latest conflict.Militants opposed to Indian rule in Kashmir have stepped up attacks on security forces since 2019, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government revoked the region’s limited autonomy and imposed direct rule from New Delhi.

Virat Kohli said he had “given it everything” on Monday as he followed Rohit Sharma in retiring from Test cricket, days before India name their squad for a tour to England.The batting great, one of the best players of his generation, a hero to millions of Indians and one of the top stars in world sport, scored 9,230 runs in 123 matches at an average of 46.85.But his Test form has fallen away markedly in the last two years.Since making his Test debut in 2011, Kohli struck 30 hundreds and 31 fifties with a highest score of 254 not out, mainly batting at number four in the order.”It’s been 14 years since I first wore the baggy blue in Test cricket,” the 36-year-old Kohli posted to his 271 million followers on Instagram.”Honestly, I never imagined the journey this format would take me on. It’s tested me, shaped me and taught me lessons I’ll carry for life.”As I step away from this format, it’s not easy — but it feels right. I’ve given it everything I had and it’s given me back so much more than I could’ve hoped for.”Kohli retired from T20s last year but like Test captain Rohit, who announced his retirement from red-ball cricket last week, he is expected to continue in the one-day game.An inspirational figure to Indian cricket fans, Kohli was the country’s most successful Test captain with 40 wins and 17 defeats in 68 matches before stepping down from the role in 2022. “I’m walking away with a heart full of gratitude — for the game, for the people I shared the field with and for every single person who made me feel seen along the way,” Kohli said.”I’ll always look back at my Test career with a smile.”The fiercely competitive Kohli averaged close to 55 at his peak between 2011 and 2019, but he could muster only 32.56 over the past 24 months in Tests and had come under pressure.- ‘Lion’s passion’ -Kohli’s last Test was in Sydney in January when India lost the match and with it the series 3-1 to Australia.Apart from an unbeaten century in the second innings of the first Test in Perth, Kohli managed just 90 runs from eight innings in the five-Test series.Kohli is part of the “Fab Four” quartet of batting greats who dominated Test cricket over the past decade, alongside Steve Smith of Australia, Kane Williamson of New Zealand and Joe Root of England.Nicknamed “King Kohli”, he was India’s batting backbone across three international formats and ended his Twenty20 career with a match-winning innings in the World Cup final victory in Barbados last year.Kohli then walked away from the shortest format along with Rohit.Kohli’s retirement statement generated more than 11 million “likes” on social media as fans and fellow cricketers paid tribute.India cricket coach Gautam Gambhir wrote on X: “A man with lion’s passion!””Your true legacy, Virat, lies in inspiring countless young cricketers to pick up the sport,” said Indian batting hero Sachin Tendulkar. “What an incredible Test career you have had! You have given Indian cricket so much more than just runs – you have given it a new generation of passionate fans and players.”South Africa great and Kohli’s IPL mate AB de Villiers called Kohli a “true legend”.”Your determination & skill have always inspired me,” he wrote.Pakistan’s pace bowling icon Wasim Akram called Kohli a “modern-day great”, saying, “he has written his place in the history books with golden words”.Former Pakistan captain and ex-cricket board chief Ramiz Raja said, “It’s a pity that he never played in Pakistan because he would have revved up the emotions like nobody!.””In my time playing and broadcasting no individual has done as much for Test cricket as Virat Kohli,” said former England captain Michael Vaughan.Indian selectors are due next week to name the squad for the five-Test series in England. The first match begins on June 20 in Leeds.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was set to address the nation on Monday for the first time since a weekend ceasefire with Pakistan that brought the nuclear-armed rivals back from the brink of all-out war.Modi’s office said the television address would start at 8:00 pm (1430 GMT).  US President Donald Trump announced the truce late Saturday after four days of missile, drone and artillery attacks which killed at least 60 people and sent thousands fleeing on both sides.The heads of military operations of India and Pakistan were also set to review the truce later Monday.It comes after the Indian army reported the “first calm night in recent days” in Kashmir and along its western border with Pakistan.Initially the conversation had been due to take place at 12:00 pm (0630 GMT) but Indian officials said it had been delayed to the evening.Abdul Basit at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore said it would be about modalities of the ceasefire and not policy decisions.The aim is to “avoid any miscalculations, because right now one spark could quickly move towards a nuclear catastrophe,” Basit told AFP.The flare-up in violence was the worst since the rivals’ last open conflict in 1999 and sparked global shudders that it could spiral into full-blown war.There were initial doubts as the rivals accused each other of breaching the ceasefire just hours after it was unexpectedly announced by Trump on social media.”The night remained largely peaceful across… Kashmir and other areas along the international border,” the Indian army said. “No incidents have been reported, marking the first calm night in recent days,” the statement added. India reopened 32 airports on Monday that had been closed due to the conflict, authorities said.- ‘Victory’ claims -Top India and Pakistan military officials held briefings late Sunday with each claiming the upper hand and warning they were ready to respond if there were fresh attacks.”We have delivered the promise we made to our people”, Pakistan’s military spokesman Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said, calling it a “success on the battleground”.”We re-established deterrence and neutralised key threats”, Pakistani Air Vice Marshal Ahmed Aurangzeb told reporters.”We have thus far exercised immense restraint so far and our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory,” said Indian Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai.But he added: “Any threat to the sovereignty, territorial integrity and safety of our citizens will be met with decisive force,” he added.- ‘Our worst nightmare’ -It was also the second straight night without gunfire or shelling at Poonch, a frontier town in the part of divided Kashmir administered by India. Poonch was one of the worst-hit places in India, with at least 12 residents killed and most of the estimated 60,000 residents fleeing their homes. On Sunday, people started trickling back, although many were still jittery about the ceasefire.Thousands of schools remained closed across Pakistan-administered Kashmir as areas were cleared of debris from strikes and firing, said local official Naveed-Ul-Hassan Bukhari.The alarming spiral towards all-out conflict began before dawn on Wednesday, when India launched missile attacks destroying what it called “terrorist camps” in the Pakistani part of Kashmir.This followed an April 22 attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir, which killed 26 civilians.India accused Pakistan of backing the attack but Islamabad denied involvement and immediately responded to the strikes with heavy artillery fire.It claimed to have downed five Indian fighter jets — something New Delhi has not commented on.Militants have stepped up operations in Kashmir since 2019, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government revoked the region’s limited autonomy and took it under direct rule from New Delhi.Divided Muslim-majority Kashmir is claimed in full by both countries, who have fought several wars over the territory since their independence from Britain in 1947.

Pakistan stocks surged Monday with the benchmark index nine percent higher after a weekend ceasefire agreement with neighbour India following days of confict. The benchmark KSE-100 Index opened at 117,104.11 points, up 9,929.48 points, or 9.26 percent, prompting an hour-long trading suspension because limits had been reached.”Today’s sharp surge in the stock market stems from a powerful convergence of bullish triggers that have swiftly turned investor sentiment from fear to opportunity,” Sana Tawfiq, head of research at Arif Habib Limited, Pakistan’s largest securities brokerage, told AFP.The jump also comes on the back of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday approving a Pakistan loan-programme review, unlocking around $1 billion in much-needed funds and greenlighting a new $1.4 billion bailout despite India’s objections.”We are very pleased today that the market has performed extremely well,” Ahmed Chinoy, director of the Pakistan Stock Exchange Limited, told AFP, while celebrating by cutting a cake with brokers.”This positive shift is reinforced by the IMF’s dual approvals, providing both critical funding and international validation of Pakistan’s reform path,” Tawfiq added.US President Donald Trump announced the ceasefire on Saturday after four days of missile, drone and artillery attacks by India and Pakistan which killed at least 60 people.In a series of posts on social media, Trump also pledged to increase trade with both nations.”While optimistic, sustaining momentum requires ceasefire compliance, accelerated reforms, and managing global headwinds like oil prices,” senior economist Sanie Khan told AFP.A policy rate cut by the country’s central bank was also seen as a positive factor boosting equity flows.