World
Pakistan calls for ‘neutral’ investigation into Kashmir attack
Pakistan has called for a “neutral” investigation into the killings of tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi has blamed on Islamabad, saying it was willing to cooperate and favoured peace.
India has identified two of the three suspected attackers as Pakistani, though Islamabad has denied any role in the attack on Tuesday that killed 25 Indians and one Nepali national.
“Pakistan is fully prepared to cooperate with any neutral investigators to ensure that the truth is uncovered and justice is served,” said Pakistan’s interior minister, Mohsin Naqvi, on Saturday.
“Pakistan remains committed to peace, stability and the following of international norms but will not compromise on its sovereignty,” he told a news conference.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said, “The recent tragedy in Pahalgam is yet another example of this perpetual blame game, which must come to a grinding halt.”
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged to pursue the attackers to “the ends of the earth” and said that those who planned and carried it out “will be punished beyond their imagination”.
Meanwhile, calls continue to grow from Indian politicians and others for military retaliation against Pakistan.
After the attack, India and Pakistan unleashed a host of measures against each other, with Pakistan closing its airspace to Indian airlines, and India suspending the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty that regulates water-sharing from the Indus River and its tributaries.
The two sides, who both fully claim Kashmir while partly governing it, have also exchanged fire across their de facto border for two straight days after four years of relative calm.
The Indian Army said it had responded to “unprovoked” small arms fire from multiple Pakistan Army posts that started around midnight on Friday along the 740km (460-mile) de facto border separating the Indian and Pakistani areas of Kashmir. It reported no casualties.
Pakistan’s military has not yet commented on the exchange of fire.
Maleeha Lodhi, a former Pakistani diplomat, told Al Jazeera that there was “a sombre mood” in Pakistan with a great deal of apprehension about what might happen next.
Lodhi said, “The nuclear neighbours are on the brink of a more dangerous confrontation, so there are fears, especially because of speeches by Prime Minister Modi as well as the Indian media.”
The former ambassador stressed that, due to this rhetoric, there is a fear that India might take “kinetic action” against Pakistan.
“That would mean a very strong, robust response from Pakistan,” she said.
“So, the fear and the apprehension are really focused on the fact that we could be on the threshold of a full-blown crisis,” Lodhi concluded.
Indians living in Jammu and Kashmir’s border village R S Pura have also begun cleaning out community bunkers as diplomatic tensions with Pakistan escalate.
“We are the residents of border areas. Whatever happens in India, our areas will be the first to be affected,” resident Balvir Kaur told the Reuters news agency.
“We are preparing ourselves so that we are ready if anything happens. The Indian government would not need to think whether its people living in the borders are safe. We do not want to be a burden for them.”
In an editorial published on Saturday, Pakistan’s Dawn news outlet said, “It is time again to give diplomacy a chance as neither Pakistan nor India can afford war.”
The editorial added that “these are dangerous times in the subcontinent, and there is a need for both Pakistan and India to show restraint, and handle the post-Pahalgam developments with sense.”
Meanwhile, Indian security forces have continued their hunt for the suspects and have demolished the Indian-administered Kashmir houses of at least five suspected rebels, including one they believe took part in the latest attack.
Pieces of broken glass littered the site of one such house in Murram village in Pulwama district on Saturday. Locals said they had not seen Ehsan Ahmed Sheikh, a suspected fighter whose house was destroyed, in the past three years.
“Nobody knows where he is,” neighbour Sameer Ahmed told Reuters.
“Ehsan’s family have lost their home. They will suffer for this, not him.”
But citing “interest of national security”, Indian authorities have declared a ban on live coverage of the large-scale military and security operations.
World
Anyma Says He’s ‘Truly Devastated and Deeply Sorry’ Following Canceled Coachella Set: ‘I’m Working on a Solution’
Electronic musician Anyma is speaking out after his Coachella set was canceled due to severe weather condititions early Saturday morning.
“I’m heartbroken,” the DJ, whose real name is Matteo Milleri, wrote in a statement shared to his X account Saturday evening. “I don’t have many words other than to say I’m truly devastated and deeply sorry to everyone who showed up to the main stage, and to those watching the livestream at home. Having the opportunity to perform the new ÆDEN show and share all the new music and art means more to me than I can express. It’s incredibly painful, especially after working day and night for the past year, not just me, but my team and the @coachella crew, who poured everything into this.”
The statement continued: “Safety was and always will be our biggest concern. The dangerous winds not only prevented us and Coachella from building our stage, but also made it impossible for my entire live setup and performance to operate safely.”
While he noted there are no other slots available for him to perform during Coachella weekend 1, Milleri wrote that he is “working on a solution to bring you some music at least,” but doesn’t want to “impose on the other artists’ slots.” “Updates soon,” he concluded.
Anyma was set to perform following Sabrina Carpenter’s headlining set on Day 1 of the festival, but the weather made it unfeasible. Attendees were notified at 12:17 a.m. of this “schedule update” with a statement posted online and sent as a push notification via the Coachella app.
“Due to strong wind conditions affecting Anyma’s stage build, he is unable to perform,” the statement read. “Coachella & Anyma have made this decision together with your safety as the priority. Further updates to come.”
Winds had gusted as high as 35-40 mph in Indio during the day Friday, and there were reports of tents being toppled in the campground area at Coachella. Weather reports for the area on Sunday, the closing day of the festival, show winds predicted at 10-20 mph, although the possibility for gusts again exists.
Even if Anyma is shut out of appearing at Coachella this weekend, he is still on the agenda for the same slot during weekend 2, this coming Friday night.
Anyma first gained popularity as one-half of the EDM duo Tale of Us.
World
Pope Leo calls out ‘delusion of omnipotence’ fueling Iran war in vigil for peace at St. Peter’s Basilica
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Pope Leo in a Saturday vigil for peace, called out the “delusion of omnipotence” he claimed is fueling war.
“In prayer, our limited human possibilities are joined to the infinite possibilities of God. Thoughts, words and deeds then break the demonic cycle of evil and are placed at the service of the Kingdom of God,” he said in a prayer service at St. Peter’s Basilica.
He continued, “A Kingdom in which there is no sword, no drone, no vengeance, no trivialization of evil, no unjust profit, but only dignity, understanding and forgiveness. It is here that we find a bulwark against that delusion of omnipotence that surrounds us and is becoming increasingly unpredictable and aggressive.”
In posts on X and during the prayer vigil, the pontiff also warned that war “divides” while hope and faith unite humanity.
TRUMP’S LAST-MINUTE DELAY: WHY HE WAS NEVER GOING TO OBLITERATE IRAN IN THE FIRST PLACE
Pope Leo XIV leads a vigil for peace inside St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on Saturday. (Gregorio Borgia/AP Photo)
“Enough of the idolatry of self and money. Enough of the display of power. Enough of war,” he wrote. “True strength is shown in serving life.”
The archbishop of Tehran, Belgian Cardinal Dominique Joseph Mathieu, was among those in the pews.
Leo’s words came on the same day Vice President JD Vance and a U.S. delegation began face-to-face talks with Iran amid an uneasy ceasefire.
MIKE PENCE WARNS JD VANCE TO AVOID OBAMA-STYLE IRAN DEAL AS NUCLEAR TALKS SET TO BEGIN IN PAKISTAN
They were some of the first American pontiff’s strongest words yet after he called President Donald Trump’s threat against Iran on Tuesday “truly unacceptable.”
“Today, as we all know, there has also been this threat against the entire people of Iran, and this is truly unacceptable,” the pope said earlier this week. “There are certainly issues of international law here, but even more so a moral issue for the good of the whole entire population.”
Pope Leo XIV speaks to the media on the U.S.–Israeli conflict with Iran, as he leaves the papal residence to head back to the Vatican, April 7, in Castel Gandolfo, Italy. (Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters)
Trump had written on Truth Social “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will… God Bless the Great People of Iran!”
Hours later, the president announced a two-week ceasefire subject to Iran agreeing to “the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz,” the president wrote in another post.
As the high-stakes talks began on Saturday in Islamabad, Trump told reporters outside the White House: “We win regardless of what happens. Maybe they make a deal, maybe they don’t.”
Islamabad hosted peace talks between Iran and the U.S. on Saturday. (Farooq Naeem/AFP via Getty Images)
For more than a month, the pope limited his remarks to muted appeals for peace, but in his Easter blessing last Sunday, he urged “those with weapons lay them down. Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace.”
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Leo also invoked what he said were the final words that Pope Francis issued to the world from the same balcony one year ago, during which the late pontiff warned of a “globalization of indifference.”
“What a great thirst for death, for killing we witness each day in the many conflicts raging in different parts of the world,” Leo said, quoting Francis.
Fox News’ Jasmine Baehr and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
World
‘Enough of war!’ says Pope Leo XIV who grows increasingly frustrated
Published on
Pope Leo XIV did not hold back on Saturday as he denounced the “delusion of omnipotence” that is powering the US-Israel war on Iran and urges political leaders to stop and engage in peace processes. All while, the US and Iran entered peace negotiations in Pakistan.
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During an evening prayer in St. Peter’s Basilica Pope Leo XIV did not mention the US nor did he mention US President Donald Trump, however, his tone and message appeared directed at US officials and Trump, who have bragged of their military superiority and justified the war using religion.
“Enough of the idolatry of self and money!” Leo said. “Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!”
The US Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) announced on 3 March 2026 that it had received more than 200 complaints from military personnel from various branches of the armed forces – including the Marines, Air Force and Space Force – accusing their commanders of using extremist Christian rhetoric to justify war against Iran.
Among those in the basilica was the archbishop of Tehran, Dominique Joseph Mathieu. The United States was represented by Laura Hochla, the deputy chief of mission, the US Embassy said.
US-born Pope Leo XIV had initially been reluctant about openly criticising the war, however, he stepped up his criticism starting on Palm Sunday. Earlier this week, he condemned Trump’s threats to annihilate Iranian civilisation calling them “truly unacceptable” and pushed for dialogue to be prioritised.
On Saturday, the pontiff called for all people of good will to pray for peace and demand an end to war from their political leaders.
Praying for peace, Pope Leo XIV said, was a way to “break the demonic cycle of evil” to build instead the Kingdom of God where there are no swords, drones or “unjust profit.”
“It is here that we find a bulwark against that delusion of omnipotence that surrounds us and is becoming increasingly unpredictable and aggressive,” he said. “Even the holy Name of God, the God of life, is being dragged into discourses of death.”
Leaders have used religion to defend their actions in the war. US officials, especially Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, have spoken about their Christian faith and described the United States as a Christian nation fighting its enemies.
Leo has said that God does not support any war, especially wars where bombs are dropped.
The Vatican is especially worried about Israel’s war with Hezbollah which is spreading into Lebanon, where Christian communities in the south are already suffering.
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