Category: 1. Pakistan

RAWALPINDI: India has acknowledged the deaths of several military personnel, including Rafale fighter jet pilots, by announcing posthumous honours, security sources told Geo News on Sunday, marking a shift from earlier denials of any casualties during Operation Sandoor.

The move, reportedly taken under internal pressure, has lifted the lid on what was previously kept under wraps: India suffered heavy losses during Operation Sindoor.

According to security sources, the Indian armed forces took a major hit in the operation, particularly along the Line of Control (LoC), where over 250 fatalities were reported.

Despite this, the Indian government and military avoided publicly acknowledging the scale of damage until the announcement of honours brought the casualties into the open.

Among those to be awarded posthumously are four Indian Air Force pilots, three of whom flew Rafale jets. The list also includes five operators of the S-400 air defence system who were killed at the Adampur Airbase, security officials say.

Nine more personnel who lost their lives at the Udhampur Airbase, including members of its air defence unit, are also named for honours.

In addition, two soldiers from the Rajouri aviation base and four others from the Uri supply depot, including its officer-in-charge, are reportedly being recognised.

Security sources claim that families of the deceased have been asked not to share photos or tributes on social media, as authorities continue efforts to keep the losses out of the public eye.

Critics are now asking: if there were no casualties, as the Indian government long claimed, why are these honours being handed out now?

India has previously denied any major damage or loss of life during incidents at key installations like Pathankot and Udhampur.

However, international media reports suggest that effective strikes from Pakistan forced India to agree to a ceasefire — a move that followed substantial military setbacks.

Pakistan launched a large-scale retaliatory military action — Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos— and targeted several Indian military targets across multiple regions in response to New Delhi’s multiple unprovoked missile strikes on its soil.

Pakistan downed six IAF fighter jets, including three Rafale, and dozens of drones. After at least 87 hours, the war between the two nuclear-armed nations ended on May 10 with a ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States.

According to ISPR, a total of 53 individuals, including 13 personnel of the armed forces and 40 civilians, were martyred in Indian strikes during the recent military confrontation.

• Honourees include Rafale pilots, S-400 operators, and key base staff.
• Families allegedly pressured not to share photos or tributes online.
• Move sparks criticism after official denial over military losses.

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After repeatedly denying any casualties, the Indian military has now indirectly acknowledged the deaths of several personnel, including Rafale fighter jet pilots, by announcing military honours for them, security sources told Geo News on Sunday.

The move, reportedly taken under internal pressure, has lifted the lid on what was previously kept under wraps: India suffered heavy losses during Operation Sindoor.

According to security sources, the Indian armed forces took a major hit in the operation, particularly along the Line of Control (LoC), where over 250 fatalities were reported. 

Despite this, the Indian government and military avoided publicly acknowledging the scale of damage until the announcement of honours brought the casualties into the open.

Among those to be awarded posthumously are four Indian Air Force pilots, three of whom flew Rafale jets. The list also includes five operators of the S-400 air defence system who were killed at the Adampur Airbase, security officials say.

Nine more personnel who lost their lives at the Udhampur Airbase, including members of its air defence unit, are also named for honours. 

In addition, two soldiers from the Rajouri aviation base and four others from the Uri supply depot, including its officer-in-charge, are reportedly being recognised.

Security sources claim that families of the deceased have been asked not to share photos or tributes on social media, as authorities continue efforts to keep the losses out of the public eye.

Critics are now asking: if there were no casualties, as the Indian government long claimed, why are these honours being handed out now?

India has previously denied any major damage or loss of life during incidents at key installations like Pathankot and Udhampur. 

However, international media reports suggest that effective strikes from Pakistan forced India to agree to a ceasefire — a move that followed substantial military setbacks.

Pakistan launched a large-scale retaliatory military action — Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos— and targeted several Indian military targets across multiple regions in response to New Delhi’s multiple unprovoked missile strikes on its soil.

Pakistan downed six IAF fighter jets, including three Rafale, and dozens of drones. After at least 87 hours, the war between the two nuclear-armed nations ended on May 10 with a ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States.

According to ISPR, a total of 53 individuals, including 13 personnel of the armed forces and 40 civilians, were martyred in Indian strikes during the recent military confrontation.

The owners of a pet lion that escaped from a farmhouse and injured a woman and her two children in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore have been arrested, authorities said on Sunday.

The arrest came after dramatic video footage emerged showing the lion leaping over a wall and attacking the victims in a residential area.

Faisal Kamran, a police official, said the woman and her five- and seven-year-old children sustained injuries to their faces and arms on Wednesday night when the lion escaped from its cage.

According to a police report, the children’s father said the lion’s owners had stood by and watched as the animal clawed at his family, making no effort to restrain it. The lion later returned to the owners’ farmhouse and was relocated to a wildlife park, police said.

Keeping exotic animals such as lions is considered a status symbol by some wealthy Pakistanis, despite the legal requirements and high fees associated with ownership.

In Turkey, a lion that escaped from a theme park near the resort of Antalya was shot dead on Sunday after attacking a man, the local governor and media reports said.

The lion, reportedly named Zeus, escaped his enclosure at the Land of Lions animal theme park in Manavgat, about 40 miles (65km) east of Antalya, in the early hours of the morning, the governor said.

According to the BirGün newspaper, the lion attacked an agricultural worker called Suleiman Kir who was asleep in a pistachio field with his wife. Kir tussled with the lion before it ran off. He was injured but not badly and was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

“We were covered with blankets to protect ourselves from mosquitoes and when the prayer call sounded, I tried to stand up but I couldn’t,” he told the newspaper. “Suddenly I felt something touch my left foot and when I eventually managed to get up, I saw it was something huge – I thought it was a dog.”

In a video posted online, he described the moments wrestling with the lion. “We called for help but there was no one around. As the lion was biting my calf and my neck, I grabbed him around the neck and began to squeeze and he backed off. At that moment, the security forces came,” he said. “If I had not been strong, I wouldn’t be here right now.”

Antalya’s governor said the lion had been tracked down and shot dead. “It was not possible to catch the escaped lion alive because it posed a danger to people and the environment, so it was shot,” he said.

He indicated that an investigation had been opened into the incident. BirGün said there were about 30 big cats at the Land of Lions.

Four people were killed while one person was injured on Sunday as flash floods swept across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Buner, Malakand and Mansehra areas, according to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA).

At least 22 people have been killed and 11 others have been injured in KP in accidents related to rain, strong winds, flash floods and landslides since June 25, according to PDMA reports. Heavy rainfall and flash floods have wreaked havoc in the province, while 18 people were swept away along the Swat River due to a sudden surge in the gushing water.

Additionally, PDMA warned on Friday that the risk of glacial lake outburst flood (Glof) — the sudden release of water and debris from a glacial lake — has increased in glacial areas of the province due to increasing temperatures, which in turn has raised the risk of additional flooding.

Today’s report from the PDMA outlined that four people were killed in KP while another was injured due to heavy rainfall and flash floods, according to the PDMA’s reporting officers in Malakand and Hazara divisions.

The PDMA said that three rooms in a house in the Buner district’s Teenolo Dheri village collapsed, killing a woman and injuring a man. Separately, in Buner, a temporary bridge pillar at Faizabad Khwar was swept away.

In Malakand, a flash flood caused by heavy rainfall swept through the Heero Shah union council, killing three people.

According to the PDMA report, one woman and two children were swept away. The woman and one of the children drowned.

“Rescue 1122 recovered [a] female body, while two children are still missing,” the report read, adding that a rescue operation was underway.

Rescue 1122 later issued an update stating that one of the children had been rescued.

Meanwhile, Dargai Assistant Commissioner (AC) Shahbaz Khan told Dawn.com that a woman and her grandson drowned in the Zor Mandi nullah as they were crossing it.

“Both bodies were recovered by Rescue 1122 and moved to Dargai hospital,” he stated.

Dargai Additional AC Waheedullah told Dawn.com that there was heavy rain in the mountains of Kot and the Hiro Shah Dargai area in the morning.

“Flash floods occurred in small, dry nullahs originating from the mountains and leading to small streams,” he said. “A nine-year-old boy was swept away by the flash flood in a small dry nullah. His grandmother, around 55-years-old, tried to save him but was also swept away.

The additional AC said that a rescue operation was launched immediately and that the boy’s body was recovered from the Pir Kalay Harichan Charsadda/Badragga Malakand boundary, while the body of the woman was recovered from the Zormandi Quaidabad area.

Additional AC Waheedullah further said that he was present in the field and people were discouraged from approaching or crossing the nullahs through announcements and the deployment of Levies personnel.

Additionally, three cows were rescued from flash floods in the Zormandi area.

“The bodies are being transported to Arang Bajaur and an ambulance from Rescue 1122 was arranged,” Waheedullah added.

In Mansehra, the PDMA stated in its report that an an 18-year-old resident of Rawalpindi had drowned in a flash flood in Putwar Halqa Jabba which was caused by heavy rain.

Amir Khadam, spokesperson for Rescue 1122 in Mansehra, told Dawn.com that the young man drowned when he was crossing a nullah in the Mansehra district with his motorcycle on Sunday morning.

“The body of the deceased was recovered from floodwater in the Ghotar area and was turned over to his heirs,” Khadam said.

The PDMA added that due to the heavy rainfall, landslides were reported in Buner’s Pandriks union council and Torghar district’s Tharala area. Both events caused traffic blockages and heavy machinery was deployed to clear the roads.

Six people were killed while one person was injured on Sunday amid flash floods and heavy rain across Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to the Provincial Disaster Management Authorities (PDMA) in both provinces.

At least 22 people have been killed and 11 others have been injured in KP in accidents related to rain, strong winds, flash floods and landslides since June 25, according to PDMA reports. Heavy rainfall and flash floods have wreaked havoc in the province, while 18 people were swept away along the Swat River due to a sudden surge in the gushing water.

Additionally, PDMA warned on Friday that the risk of glacial lake outburst flood (Glof) — the sudden release of water and debris from a glacial lake — has increased in glacial areas of the province due to increasing temperatures, which in turn has raised the risk of additional flooding.

Today’s report from the PDMA outlined that four people were killed in KP while another was injured due to heavy rainfall and flash floods, according to the PDMA’s reporting officers in Malakand and Hazara divisions.

The PDMA said that three rooms in a house in the Buner district’s Teenolo Dheri village collapsed, killing a woman and injuring a man. Separately, in Buner, a temporary bridge pillar at Faizabad Khwar was swept away.

In Malakand, a flash flood caused by heavy rainfall swept through the Heero Shah union council, killing three people.

According to the PDMA report, one woman and two children were swept away. The woman and one of the children drowned.

“Rescue 1122 recovered [a] female body, while two children are still missing,” the report read, adding that a rescue operation was underway.

Rescue 1122 later issued an update stating that one of the children had been rescued.

Meanwhile, Dargai Assistant Commissioner (AC) Shahbaz Khan told Dawn.com that a woman and her grandson drowned in the Zor Mandi nullah as they were crossing it.

“Both bodies were recovered by Rescue 1122 and moved to Dargai hospital,” he stated.

Dargai Additional AC Waheedullah told Dawn.com that there was heavy rain in the mountains of Kot and the Hiro Shah Dargai area in the morning.

“Flash floods occurred in small, dry nullahs originating from the mountains and leading to small streams,” he said. “A nine-year-old boy was swept away by the flash flood in a small dry nullah. His grandmother, around 55-years-old, tried to save him but was also swept away.

The additional AC said that a rescue operation was launched immediately and that the boy’s body was recovered from the Pir Kalay Harichan Charsadda/Badragga Malakand boundary, while the body of the woman was recovered from the Zormandi Quaidabad area.

Additional AC Waheedullah further said that he was present in the field and people were discouraged from approaching or crossing the nullahs through announcements and the deployment of Levies personnel.

Additionally, three cows were rescued from flash floods in the Zormandi area.

“The bodies are being transported to Arang Bajaur and an ambulance from Rescue 1122 was arranged,” Waheedullah added.

In Mansehra, the PDMA stated in its report that an an 18-year-old resident of Rawalpindi had drowned in a flash flood in Putwar Halqa Jabba which was caused by heavy rain.

Amir Khadam, spokesperson for Rescue 1122 in Mansehra, told Dawn.com that the young man drowned when he was crossing a nullah in the Mansehra district with his motorcycle on Sunday morning.

“The body of the deceased was recovered from floodwater in the Ghotar area and was turned over to his heirs,” Khadam said.

The PDMA added that due to the heavy rainfall, landslides were reported in Buner’s Pandriks union council and Torghar district’s Tharala area. Both events caused traffic blockages and heavy machinery was deployed to clear the roads.

Heavy rain continues to lash Punjab

Meanwhile, a PDMA report on monsoon rains in various districts of Punjab, including Lahore, was released today.

According to a PDMA spokesperson, dilapidated and decaying houses collapsed amid heavy rain, with two dead and six injured in various accidents.

“A woman and a child were killed due to the collapse of dilapidated and decaying buildings in Rawalpindi and Gujranwala,” said the spokesperson. “Two dilapidated and mud houses were affected due to monsoon rains.”

PDMA Director General Irfan Ali Kathia said in a statement that he expected heavy rain to persist in Punjab until July 10.

“Heavy monsoon rains are expected in most parts of Punjab in the next 24 hours,” he said. “Stay in safe places during thunderstorms and do not shelter in mud houses or dilapidated buildings.

“During rain, slow down the speed of your vehicle and maintain a reasonable distance,” he urged.

He also instructed medical institutions to provide the best medical assistance to the injured.

“As per the instructions of the Punjab chief minister, citizens’ losses will be compensated,” Kathia instructed. “Assistance will also be provided to the relatives of the deceased as per government policy.”

According to the report, Lahore recorded the highest amount of rainfall in Paniwala Talab, at 74 millimetres (mm).

Similarly, 72mm fell in Lakshmi Chowk, 57mm on Jail Road, 52mm in Nishtar Town, 52mm in Farrukhabad, 51mm in Gulberg, 37mm at the airport, 33mm in Mughal Pura and 44mm at Qurtaba Chowk.

Elsewhere in Punjab, Jhelum recorded 102mm of rainfall, Mangla recorded 81mm and Rawalpindi recorded 43mm.

Rain was also recorded in Sialkot, Gujarat, Narowal, Kasur, Murree, Attock, Gujranwala, Bahawalnagar and Sahiwal.

Warnings issued

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) issued a warning today for widespread rain, wind, and thundershowers expected across several regions of the country from July 6-8 (Sunday to Tuesday), The Associated Press of Pakistan reported.

The wet spell is likely to bring very heavy rainfall at various locations, with the risks of flash floods, urban flooding and landslides, particularly in the northern and hilly areas.

The PMD said that rain, wind and thundershowers are likely in KP, Punjab, northeast and southern Balochistan, southeast Sindh, Kashmir, and Islamabad. Additionally, isolated heavy downpours are expected in upper Punjab, the Potohar region, Islamabad, KP, Azad and Jammu Kashmir (AJK), and northern Balochistan.

The Met Office warned that heavy rainfall may generate flash floods in local streams and nullahs in Murree, Galliyat, Mansehra, Kohistan, Abbottabad, Buner, Chitral, Dir, Swat, Shangla, Nowshera, Swabi, Mardan, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, the hill torrents of Dera Ghazi Khan, northeast Punjab, AJK, and parts of Balochistan.

It added that the risk of landslides and mudslides is high in vulnerable mountainous areas like KP, Murree, Galliyat and AJK, which may cause road closures and travel disruptions.