��������

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Air Force Chief Air Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar Sidhu on Thursday said the PAF was ready to support the Belarus Air Force (BAF) with basic to tactical level training, the military’s media wing said, as both sides discussed military and air cooperation.

Sidhu met a high-level defense delegation led by BAF and Air Defense Commander Major General Andrei Yulianovich Lukyanovich, the Pakistani military’s media wing said.

“During the meeting, Chief of the Air Staff [..] assured that PAF is committed to extending full support for the basic to tactical-level training of pilots and maintenance crews for capacity building of BAF,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, said in a statement.

“This includes the initiation of high-level exchange programs aimed at fostering professional development between the two air forces.”

Lukyanovich expressed a strong interest in learning from the PAF’s extensive operational experience in wartime operations and conveyed the BAF’s eagerness to draw lessons from the PAF’s combat-tested doctrines and training programs, the ISPR said.

The PAF says it shot down six Indian Air Force jets on the night of May 6 while repelling Indian air attacks. India’s defense chief recently admitted the country lost fighter jets to Pakistan. However, he denied six jets were shot down.

The meeting takes place a day after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Belarusian Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Victor Khrenin in Islamabad, where the two discussed bilateral defense and technology ties.

Sharif visited Belarus in April during which both countries signed a roadmap for military-technical cooperation from 2025 to 2027, along with multiple agreements in trade, defense and industrial collaboration.

KARACHI: A Pakistani delegation led by former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari met a group of American lawmakers on Thursday, telling them that India is consistently resisting dialogue to resolve bilateral issues.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif set up the delegation last month, tasking it to present Pakistan’s point of view regarding the country’s conflict with India last month. India and Pakistan last month engaged in four days of fighting, striking each other with missiles, drones, artillery and fighter jets before Washington brokered a ceasefire on May 10.

Bhutto Zardari’s delegation has held a series of meetings with top international diplomats since arriving in New York on Monday, urging the global community to help India and Pakistan enter a comprehensive dialogue to peacefully resolve their differences.

On Thursday the delegation met members of the US Congressional Pakistan Caucus in Washington. These included Republican party leaders Jack Bergman and Ryan Zinke and Democratic leaders Tom Suozzi and Ilhan Omar, among others.

“Pakistan remains committed to peace, but sadly, India consistently resists dialogue,” Bhutto Zardari was quoted as saying by Bilawal House, his official residence.

The former foreign minister criticized India’s decision to hold in abeyance the Indus Waters Treaty, a decades-old water-sharing agreement with Pakistan.

“India has weaponized water, endangering the future of not only Pakistan but the entire region,” he said.

He warned that if Indian hostility is not curbed in time, it could “seriously jeopardize regional peace.” The Pakistani politician reaffirmed his country’s desire for constructive engagement based on mutual respect and peaceful resolution of disputes, the statement said.

“The members of Congress welcomed the delegation, listened carefully to Pakistan’s concerns, and expressed willingness to strengthen bilateral engagement and regional stability,” the statement concluded.

Tensions between the arch-rivals began on April 22 when militants attacked a resort in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam area, killing 26 tourists.

India blamed Pakistan for supporting militants involved in the attack, a charge Pakistan vehemently denied and called for a transparent, international probe into the incident.

Pakistan and India, bitter rivals, have fought two out of three wars over the disputed territory of Kashmir that they both claim in full but govern only parts of.

India accuses Pakistan of supporting militants in the part of Kashmir it administers. Islamabad denies the allegation and says it extends only diplomatic and moral support to the people of Kashmir.