India’s Modi agrees to US trade talks, Trump offers F-35 jets
On February 13, 2025, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who met with President Donald Trump at the White House, offered to ease Indian tariffs on US goods and increase US oil, gas and, ultimately, F-35 fighter jets.
Reuters
ISLAMABAD, April 30 (Reuters) – The head of Kashmir’s Pakistan-controlled region called for international mediation and said on Wednesday that his government is preparing a humanitarian response in the case of further escalations between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan.
The Pakistani government has said there is a “reliable intelligence” that India is set to launch military action shortly after the tensions escalated a few days after the fatal attacks on tourists in Kashmir, controlled by India.
India denounced Pakistan on the attack on April 22nd, killing 26 people who Islamabad denied.
“There’s a lot of activity going on and anything can happen, so we have to prepare for it. These few days are very important,” Kashmir’s president, Sultan Mahmoud Chaudhry, who was attacked by Pakistan, told Reuters in an interview, calling for a swift international diplomat to free the situation.
“We expect mediation from some friendly countries at this point and hope that mediation must be done. Otherwise India will do anything this time,” he said. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates could be in a position to mediate, he added.
Chaudhry also said he hopes major players like the US and the UK will also be involved.
He said that the activity along the control (LOC) that divides two parts of Kashmir has been “hot” and that Pakistan has shot down two Indian drones in recent days.
He said he was regularly fired day and night by Pakistani and Indian soldiers, but so far there have been no casualties.
Pakistan was also detecting Indian Rafale fighters flying near the LOC, but they were not crossing, he added.
The Indian Air Force did not respond to a request for comment, but Indian military officials said the Rafalejets are doing regular training and drilling along the LOC.
Chaudhry said he had not received information about when or where India was expected to attack, but his administration had been working with groups such as the Red Crescent Society to prepare additional medical care and food supplies in the event of a conflict.
“Red Crescent is working on that and we are working on displaced people in affected areas,” he said.
He said the international community also needs to pay more attention to Kashmir’s long-term future.
“I think this is a fitting time for the international community as a whole and the United Nations to play a mediating role in Kashmir,” he said.
“It’s been a very long time and the people of Kashmir suffer a lot.”
Although Pakistan-controlled Kashmir has its own elected government, Pakistan retains many of the rights of Pakistani citizens on key issues such as defense and its residents.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke to Pakistan and India on Tuesday, emphasizing the need to avoid conflict. The United States and the United Kingdom are also calming down.
