11/05/2025

WORLD 7 ON SUNDAY MAY 11, 2025 India, Pakistan step up attacks

US offers help on ‘constructive talks’

television that if India stops here, then “we will consider to stop here”. The Indian military said yesterday that “all hostile actions have been effectively countered”. Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif played down any immediate nuclear threat, calling it a “very distant possibility”. “We shouldn’t even discuss it in the immediate context,” he told ARY TV. “Before we get to that point, I think temperatures will come down. No meeting has happened of the National Command Authority, nor is any such meeting scheduled.” Pakistan’s information minister did not respond to a request for comment and the military said it had no immediate comment. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Pakistan’s Army Chief General

Asim Munir and India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar yesterday, urging both sides to de-escalate and “re establish direct communication to avoid miscalculation”. “India’s approach has always been measured and responsible and remains so,” Jaishankar said on X. Indian Wing Commander Vyomika Singh told a press conference India was responding to moves by Pakistani forces but would show restraint if Pakistan did so as well. “The Pakistan military has been observed to be moving their troops into forward areas, indicating offensive intent to further escalate the situation,” she said. “Indian armed forces remain in a high state of operational readiness. Indian armed forces reiterate their commitment to non-escalation, provided it is

reciprocated by the Pakistan military.” As tensions remain high, residents across Pakistan and India have rushed to stockpile food and other essential supplies, while families living near the border fled to safer areas. Indian authorities have installed sirens in high rise buildings in New Delhi, some 650km from the border. Pakistan early yesterday said it had targeted bases in India, including a missile storage site, in response to attacks by the Indian military. India said there was limited damage to equipment and personnel at four air force stations. The military said there were several high-speed missile attacks on air bases in Punjab state and that India had responded to the attacks. Five civilians were killed in the attacks in the Jammu region of Indian Kashmir, regional police said. – Reuters Seoul party drops presidential candidate SEOUL: South Korea’s conservative party dropped its presidential candidate against his will yesterday, beginning a process to instead nominate outsider and former prime minister Han Duck-soo less than a month before the election. The June 3 presidential poll will decide who replaces Yoon Suk Yeol, who was removed from office over his declaration of martial law in December, sending South Korea into a period of political turmoil. Yoon’s People Power Party (PPP) had initially chosen Kim Moon-soo, a former labour minister who won the party’s primary last week, but it announced yesterday that his nomination was cancelled. Instead, the party said it was nominating Han, who had initially launched his presidential bid as an independent. The former prime minister joined PPP yesterday. “In the end, efforts to unify under a single candidate have failed. It is deeply regrettable and heartbreaking,” said Kwon Young-se, the PPP’s interim leader. He said they “needed a competitive candidate to run as the People Power Party’s official nominee”. Han’s nomination is expected to be finalised today. – AFP MOSCOW: China’s President Xi Jinping pledged on Friday to support Myanmar in its rebuilding efforts following an earthquake. Xi met Myanmar’s State Administration Council Chairman Min Aung Hlaing in Moscow on the sidelines of Russia’s Victory Day celebrations. Xi expressed his support for Myanmar pursuing development “suited to its national conditions, safeguarding its sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and national stability, and steadily advancing its domestic political agenda”. Xi said he hoped Myanmar would take “concrete measures to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel, institutions and projects in Myanmar, and intensify efforts to combat cross-border crimes”. The earthquake has enabled Min Aung Hlaing to re-establish ties with regional powers, with offers of millions in aid and relief supplies. – Reuters/AFP Xi pledges to help Myanmar rebuild

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and India launched strikes and counter-strikes on military installations yesterday, prompting US calls for the neighbours to begin talks and defuse their escalating conflict, the most intense since 1999. Fears that the countries’ nuclear arsenals might come into play spiked when the Pakistan military said a top military and civil body overseeing its nuclear weapons would meet, but the defence minister later said no such meeting was scheduled. Officials from both sides showed a willingness to take a step back. Pakistani Foreign Minister, Mohammad Ishaq Dar told local

PEACEMAKERS ... Buddhist monks chanting sutras among the stupas at Borobudur Temple, the world’s largest Buddhist monument and a Unesco World Heritage Site in Magelang, Central Java yesterday ahead of Wesak Day. The occasion is the most sacred day for Buddhists, commemorating the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, all traditionally believed to have occurred on the full moon day of the Vesakha month in the ancient Indian lunar calendar. – AFPPIC

Ex-president Duterte runs for mayor DAVAO CITY: Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte spends his days in a small, spartan room in detention at the Hague, awaiting trial for a bloody war on drugs. But in his hometown of Davao City, Duterte is on the ticket for mayor in midterm elections tomorrow that he is widely expected to win, riding on support in the family stronghold, though it may not translate nationwide. “No matter what happens, we’re solidly for Duterte.” Duterte’s arrest in March, following a request by the International Criminal Court, was a major blow to his powerful family, whose popularity surged after he swept to power in 2016 from his position as a maverick, crime-busting mayor.

Marcos Jr has managed to subdue the Dutertes’ political machine. The Duterte name has a mythic status in Davao, but perhaps less nationwide, said Ederson Tapia, a specialist in public administration at the University of Makati. “All indications are that they still have a solid base,” he said. Duterte’s daughter, Vice-President Sara Duterte, is seen as a potential contender in the 2028 presidential elections, but is besieged by political woes of her own. Marcos’ candidates remain ahead in polls and appear poised to dominate the Senate race, despite the sympathy generated for the Duterte camp. – Reuters

As president, the tough-talking Duterte upended Philippine foreign policy and launched a “war on drugs” that rights groups say killed significantly more than a police estimate of 6,000. Yet his influence beyond Davao is far less certain, as the polls shape as a test of how far incumbent President Ferdinand

“I’ve seen what he accomplished as both mayor and president, from his fight against drug lords to what he did for the country,” said Jennifer Maumbas, 28, a worker in a small cafe that displayed Duterte’s visage on a banner.