Indo-Pak conflict LIVE: Pakistan govt vows to rebuild Muridke JuD HQ destroyed by India
India to extend Indus canals to reduce flow to Pakistan; Rahul questions EAM Jaishankar for publicly admitting that govt had informed Pakistan about Op Sindoor
The Pakistan government has assured to rebuild the mosques — the JuD headquarters — at Muridke destroyed in the Indian strike on May 7, the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML) has said.
The PMML is a political wing of the banned Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) and is a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
Pakistan claims the destroyed structure at Muridke, located at about 40 kms from Lahore, was a mosque and an educational complex.
India extends canals to block Indus flow
As part of its efforts to maximise the use of water that India will get after putting the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance, India is planning to increase the length of the Ranbir canal on the Chenab River.
Till now, India has been using limited water from Chenab, mostly for irrigation, but by putting the treaty in abeyance now there is scope of expanding its use, especially in power generation sector to meet the energy demands.
“One of the major plans are enhancing the length of the Ranbir canal to 120 km,” PTI quoted an official as saying, who added that as building of the infrastructure requires time, “all stakeholders have been urged to expedite the process”.
Moreover, the process of desilting has also started on Kathua, Ravi and Paragwal canals.
Rahul attacks EAM
In related news, Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, questioned External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for publicly admitting that the Government of India had informed Pakistan about Operation Sindoor and asked how many aircraft the Indian Air Force (IAF) lost as a result.
He also shared an undated video of Jaishankar saying India had informed Pakistan of the action against terror infrastructure on its soil.
Admission from Pakistan PM
Meanwhile, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has confirmed that India carried out precision missile strikes on the Nur Khan airbase in Rawalpindi and other locations, multiple media reports said.
The rare admission came as Sharif revealed that Army Chief General Asim Munir personally alerted him about the attack in a late-night call at 2:30 am between May 9 and 10, during Operation Sindoor.
The disclosure marks a rare acknowledgment from Pakistani leadership regarding the strikes. Further details on the extent of the damage or potential casualties remain undisclosed.
Also read our articles on Operation Sindoor
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Live Updates
- 17 May 2025 3:19 PM IST
IMF meeting on Pak loans: Modi govt succumbed to US pressure, says Congress
A day after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh urged the IMF to rethink its assistance to Pakistan, the Congress on Saturday alleged that the Modi government had "simply buckled under US pressure" at the IMF Executive Board meeting when the loans to that country were deliberated upon.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said Singh is now criticising the IMF for approving loans to Pakistan on May 9, 2025, "but on April 29th itself - before the Modi government woke up - the Congress had said that the IMF Executive Board was meeting on May 9th to consider this issue and that India should oppose it forcefully".
"As it turns out India only abstained on May 9th. Later the Modi government's drumbeaters, cheerleaders and apologists argued that this was the only option available to India. This is a lie," Ramesh claimed.
There is indeed a provision to vote No in the Executive Board, he said.
Russia had voted No on a loan proposal to Ukraine in September 2016 and India herself had voted No on September 11, 2005, on the issue of the expulsion of Zimbabwe, the Congress leader said.
"Where there is a will there is a way. The Modi government simply buckled under US pressure on May 9th at the IMF Executive Board meeting," Ramesh said.
- 17 May 2025 2:28 PM IST
Bengaluru wholesale cloth sellers halt trade with Turkey, Azerbaijan
The Bangalore Wholesale Cloth Merchants Association (BWCMA) has decided to cease all import and export of textiles to and from Turkey and Azerbaijan, with immediate effect, citing their recent "support" for Pakistan in the wake of 'Operation Sindoor'.
The BWCMA have declared their unanimous decision in this regard.
"This collective action has been taken after careful deliberation and in alignment with our commitment to ethical business practices, national sentiment, and the interests of our trade community. As responsible stakeholders in the textile trade sector, we believe it is essential to take principled stands when necessary," BWCMA President Prakash Pirgal said in a statement.
"Accordingly, all our members have agreed to: halt all current and future import of textile goods from Turkey and Azerbaijan, cease all ongoing or planned export activities to these nations, and refrain from engaging in any indirect trade through intermediaries or third-party countries that may involve textile products originating from or destined for Turkey and Azerbaijan." This resolution will remain in force until further notice, and any revision will be communicated officially through the Association's governing body, he said.
- 17 May 2025 2:16 PM IST
Himanta urges Rahul to drop Assam MP's name from all-party delegation list
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday urged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to drop the state's MP from the list of four parliamentarians nominated by the grand old party for the delegations to be sent abroad to explain India's stance on terrorism from Pakistan.
Without naming Gaurav Gogoi, the Congress deputy leader in the Lok Sabha who is among the four MPs nominated by the party, the CM maintained that he should not be included in the all-party delegations "in the interest of national security".
Sarma has been making allegations against Gogoi over his alleged Pakistan links through his British wife Elizabeth Colburn, and has claimed that the Jorhat MP had stayed for 15 days in the neighbouring country without informing authorities.
The Congress leader had dismissed the allegations.
“One of the MPs named in the list ( from Assam ) has not denied his prolonged stay in Pakistan—reportedly for two weeks—and credible documents show that his wife was drawing salary from a Pakistan-based NGO while working in India," Sarma alleged on X.
He also said, “In the interest of national security and beyond partisan politics, I urge leader of opposition Sri Rahul Gandhi not to include this individual in such a sensitive and strategic assignment." Sarma's comment was a response to Congress leader Jairam Ramesh's post on social media.
- 17 May 2025 1:58 PM IST
Dhankhar draws parallel between Operation Sindoor and US' elimination of Laden in Pak
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday drew similarities between Operation Sindoor and the killing of Osama bin Laden by US forces in Pakistan.
Describing attacks on nine terror sites in Pakistan as the "deepest-ever cross-border strike" by India, the vice president recalled the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the United States.
Without naming bin Laden, he said that on May 2, 2011, a global terrorist who planned, supervised, and executed September 11 attacks inside the US was "dealt with" by the US forces "similarly".
"Bharat has done it. And done it to the knowledge of the world," he said addressing an event of Jaipuria institutions here.
He said that a new "global benchmark" has been set. While maintaining the spirit of peace, the objective has been to strike at terrorism.
For the first time, precise strikes were carried out deep across the International Border on the strongholds of Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba.
He said the strikes were so precise that only terrorists were harmed.
Dhankhar said that after the Pahalgam terror attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given a message to the global community from Bihar. "Those were not empty words. The world has now realised," he said.
He also said that the Pahalgam terror attack, which left at least 26 people dead, was the deadliest attack on civilians since the Mumbai terror attack.
