Category World News

India and Pakistan are tense over a possible military offensive against its western neighbor days after the deadly attack on tourists in Pahalgam, Indian-administered Kashmir, in the wake of rumors that New Delhi might launch a military campaign against its western neighbor.

In a picturesque meadow in Pahalgam, which only can be reached by foot or horseback, suspected rebels opened fire on male tourists as they emerged from the forests in the afternoon of April 22. A local Kashmiri pony rider and 25 tourists were killed.

The worst attack in Kashmir in a quarter-century sparked a string of diplomatic maneuvers by India and Pakistan, which have brought the nuclear-armed neighbors into imminent military conflict.

However, Kashmir is at the center of their tensions, despite India’s accusations of Pakistani involvement and Islamabad’s accusations that New Delhi has denied providing any proof to support its claims.

In the region of Kashmir it administers, India has responded to the Pahalgam attack by conducting numerous raids and demolitions of rebel-held homes. In some areas of the Kashmir valley, tourism has also been temporarily halted. Additionally, it is expeling Pakistanis who reside in India and Kashmir, including former rebel rebels’ families, which New Delhi had previously invited as part of a rehabilitation program.

Meanwhile, dozens of Kashmiris have reported experiencing physical assault, harassment, and leave threats in various cities across India.

Al Jazeera spoke with residents of the area about the impact the Pahalgam attack had had on their lives.

35-year-old adventure tour operator Ashiq Nabi

When the attack happened, I was in Pahalgam. We all found it shocking.

I immediately became aware of the impact of the incident as an architect and tourism planner working in Kashmir to create adventure tourism.

My work has been directly impacted by the government’s decision to shut down 48 tourist destinations and suspend all trekking activities following the attack. The months of planning, coordination with local partners, and scheduled expeditions abruptly came to an end.

Local guides, porters, and service personnel were dismissed as a result of the attack, which resulted in numerous cancellations, losses of money, and other staff dismissals, many of whom are solely dependent on seasonal tourism for income.

Beyond just business, the impact shook the confidence of tourists and stifled hundreds of people’s livelihoods along the tourism value chain.

My efforts to promote Kashmir as a safe, adventure-friendly destination have come to an abrupt end. Although my work has suffered a significant setback, I’m optimistic that things will get better, that more people will visit, and that the sector will regain its footfall.

I have no other choice but to hope because I’m very stressed out right now about my livelihood.

40-year-old tourist taxi driver Rameez Ahmad

The events that occurred in Pahalgam should never have occurred.

Our only source of income is destroyed by incidents like that, which don’t just cause panic. Since that day, there have been so many tourists that I haven’t taken a single ride in these days.

I wait patiently outside the door, hoping someone will call me, but the phone just stops ringing.

This year has already begun with some hope since March. Bookings were booming, and after years of struggle, it appeared as though we might finally experience a positive season. However, everything is now crashing in.

People like me, who have no government job, no land, and no business, will be left without money if this continues.

We can survive on tourism, but this incident has been very bad for me because I have no choice but to stay. I can’t save money on it. I need money to pay off my loans, my family, and my children. When visitors decline to visit, it’s more about how we’ll eat tomorrow than just a bad day at work.

A job seeker named as *Amir Ahmad 26

When the Pahalgam incident occurred, I was staying in a rented room in Srinagar, India’s largest city. I was ejected from central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district in response to reports of youth being taken across the border.

I was called to the neighborhood police station a few months earlier for a post I posted on social media that the police didn’t like. I was warned before being released, and I was then sent home. I have been confined to my home ever since I left the rented place I had previously rented. I’m not allowed to leave my house. I experience a wave of anxiety whenever I receive a call, which I believe might be from the police.

My mother had planned to have open-heart surgery in Delhi in a few days, but she is now too afraid to do so. One of my friends, a student, just came back and cautioned us that traveling at this level is incredibly dangerous. After the attacks against Kashmiri students, he had to rush home while he was a student in Punjab.

We are unsure about whether to worry about two meals, our job, our education, our homes being destroyed, or the political uncertainty that is roiling our worlds.

For some people, Kashmir may be a wonderland, a miniature of Switzerland, or a paradise, but for us, it is an open prison. Everyone experiences fear in their lives. What is the outlook?

Ajmal, a Bihar-born immigrant worker, age 21,

My sister and her husband have been raising children in Kashmir for more than ten years.

She also brought me here a few years ago. She never complained that she would suffer harm. She would frequently praise the locals and their warmth. That sparked my desire to try and establish a life here as well. I earn money by selling pani puri, a well-known street snack in South Asia, on a cart. Here, too, is excellent weather.

Fear was first sparked by the tourist attack, which did cause fear the day afterward. Without knowing what would occur, we were extremely afraid. However, people are gradually getting back to their daily routine and things are starting to normalize. Without much concern, I keep operating my stall and even shut it off late in the evening. So far, we feel secure.

For the moment, at least the atmosphere here doesn’t feel intimidating to outsiders.

*Safiya Jan, 40

I’m a native of Karachi, Pakistan. In 2014, I visited Kashmir for the families of the former rebels who had fled to Pakistan but had given up their weapons and settled there under the [Indian] government’s rehabilitation plan.

I moved to Kashmir after marrying my husband, who is from Baramulla, north of the country. I have lived in this house with him and our two daughters for the past ten years. Our current home is this.

I become concerned when I learn today that Pakistanis are being resent. My heart breaks, dear. I’m not interested in returning. How can I go home alone and leave my husband behind? I prefer to pass away than to be separated from my family. Please don’t let us leave, I beg the government, with folded hands.

Here are my daughters studying. Year after year, we have continued to build a life in Kashmir. Nobody is in danger of us. We only want to be able to live peacefully as a family.

Who on Earth would cut an arm or leg from the body if I was to be sent back?

On Saturday, Australians will cast their ballots in the federal elections and elect their next parliament.

The ruling centre-left Labor Party, led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, is polling slightly higher than the Liberal-National Coalition, led by Peter Dutton, in a campaign that has been largely dominated by housing price woes.

Here is more information about how Australia’s elections, where it has required voters for the past century, will proceed:

What is in question?

Australians will vote for the upper and lower houses of parliament.

Voters will designate members of parliament (MPs) from their respective regions to the House of Representatives, the lower chamber that passes or approves most laws.

151 House members have been elected for three years, currently. However, this year, the House will shrink to 150 elected members due to a redrawing of electoral districts.

Voters will also elect representatives from their respective states or territories to the Senate, the House’s oversight body. Senators who have been elected for six years are 76. This year, 40 of these seats are up for grabs.

A party must have at least 76 seats in the House of Representatives to form a government. The party with the most seats forms a minority government by working with smaller parties or independent members if no party has an overwhelming majority.

Besides Labor and the Liberal-National Coalition, a&nbsp, number of independent and minor parties are also vying for seats.

What time does Australia’s election season begin?

From 8am to 6pm, more than 7, 000 polling locations in Australia will be open. Because Australia has multiple time zones, here is a breakdown of the times the polling places open:

• On Saturday, from 8am to 6pm Australian Eastern Standard Time (22:00 GMT on Friday) to 08:00 GMT on Saturday, polling locations in Queensland, New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria, Canberra, and Jervis Bay will be open.
• For residents of Norfolk Island, a remote overseas territory, the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) website lists a number of polling locations in Canberra. However, there is one polling place on Norfolk Island itself, which will open from 8am to 6pm Norfolk Time (21: 00 GMT on Friday to 07: 00 GMT on Saturday).
• The Northern Territory, Broken Hill, a town in the New South Wales border, and South Australia will vote from 8am to 6pm Australian Central Standard Time (22:30 GMT on Friday) to 8:30 GMT on Saturday.
• The Cocos, Keeling, Islands, and Christmas Island in the Northern Territory are the polling locations that are closest to the overseas territories of the Cocos, Keeling, and Christmas Island. They will also vote in Australian Central Standard Time (22: 30 GMT on Friday to 08: 30 GMT on Saturday).
• Western Australia’s polls are open from 00:00 to 10:00 GMT on Saturday, between 8 am and 6 pm, respectively, in Australia.

Can people cast ballots at other times?

Australia has more than 500 early voting centres, which opened on April 22 and will close on Friday, May 2. By Thursday, 4.8 million Australians had already cast early ballots.

Foreign Australians may cast ballots at embassies and consulates during the early voting period. While it is not compulsory for overseas Australians to vote, they must notify the AEC if they are not voting.

Australia’s new remote voting system was introduced on April 22. To collect votes from far-off communities, small AEC teams travel by car, plane, helicopter, or boat. They have visited remote locations and islands, including the Cocos Islands and Christmas Island.

Additionally, there is a postal voting system in Australia.

What is the process for Australian elections?

A federal election takes place every three years in Australia through a preferential voting system.

Citizens aged 18 and older must vote in Australia. Australia has 18 million eligible voters. Voters must be registered on an electoral roll to be able to cast their ballots.

A 20-Australian-dollar (US $12.75) fine isimposed on voters who do not cast ballots and fail to provide a valid reason.

After being verified at polling stations and checking off the electoral roll, voters receive two ballot papers, one for each of the two houses of parliament. Voter ID is not required.

The House of Representatives candidates are chosen using a green ballot paper. Voters must order all the candidates in their constituency on this paper according to their preference order.

A white ballot paper is for voters to pick senators. The ballot paper displays candidates for each party at the bottom of the form, with the candidates for each party appearing at the top of the form.

Voters can either choose a party on the white paper’s ballot box at the top or a candidate’s preference list at the bottom of the form.

Pencils are supplied at polling centres, but voters are allowed to mark their votes with pen as well.

If a candidate receives more than 50% of the first preference votes, they are declared victorious.

The candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated if no candidate reaches the 50% threshold, and the candidate’s votes are then split among the candidates they had nominated as their second preference. This process continues until a candidate reaches the threshold.

The polls’ answers: what are they?

According to YouGov polls, Albanese’s Labor Party was favored by Dutton’s coalition by a slim margin in the two-party preferred vote on Wednesday. The projected vote share for Labor is 31.4 percent and for the Coalition 31.1 percent.

According to Charles Edel, senior adviser and chair of Australia at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), if Labor forms a minority government, it is most likely to do so in concert with the Greens or the Teals, a group of centrist independents who are focused on environmental issues.

Edel added that Labor’s focus on environmental issues would likely be pushed by the Teals and Greens, but that such factors are unlikely to have an impact on foreign policy decisions after that.

What did the last parliament look like?

In the most recent federal election, in 2022, the Labor Party won 77 of the 151 seats in the House of Representatives. 58 seats were won by the Liberal-National Coalition. The Greens took four.

After almost a decade in office, Labor was reinstated following the election.

When parliament wasdissolved on March 28 in preparation for the federal elections, leaving a caretaker government in charge, the Labor Party held 25 seats, the Coalition had 30, the Greens had 4 and the independents had 4 in the Senate.

What are the key issues in these elections?

Housing costs, the economy, defense, and energy are the main factors that influence the vote.

Living expenses

Inflation has caused the cost of living in Australia to surge in recent years. According to government figures, eggs’ prices increased by 11 percent last year.

During the Albanese administration, the Reserve Bank of Australia’s benchmark interest rate increased by 4.35 percent, reaching its highest point in November 2023. In 2023, annual inflation peaked at 7.8 percent.

Housing costs

This election, voters are keeping tabs on Australia’s high property and rental prices, which have resulted in unaffordable and limited housing.

On average, a household in Australia’s largest city, Sydney, needs to earn about 280, 000 Australian dollars every year (US $180, 000) to be able to afford the median house price of 1.4 million Australian dollars (US $900, 000), according to research by the property consultancy PropTrack. According to the International Housing Affordability survey conducted by the American urban policy analyst Wendell Cox and published in 2024, the city is the second-least affordable of 94 urban centers worldwide.

According to property analyst CoreLogic, the average rent in Australia increased by 4.8 percent last year after rising by 8.1 percent in 2023.

“This is a crisis that took decades to create, and it’s going to take decades to fix, but we do need someone to step up and take the first steps”, Maiy Azize, the national spokesperson for the pressure group Everybody’s Home, told Al Jazeera.

The Liberals have pledged to invest in infrastructure and lessen bureaucracy to speed up housing approvals, in contrast to the Labor Party’s pledge to build 100 000 homes for first-time buyers.

Energy

Australian politicians are increasingly being asked to switch from fossil fuels, particularly in younger age groups. A 2023 survey by the independent nonprofit Energy Consumers Australia suggested that about half of Australians aged 18 to 34 want Australia to be powered by renewables by 2030.

The transition is necessary, but both major parties are in agreement about how to make it happen. The Coalition wants to construct seven government-funded nuclear power plants that could start producing energy by 2035.

However, the Labor Party argues that the energy from existing coal- and gas-fired generators would not be enough to meet the country’s needs while Australians wait for nuclear energy to kick off. Instead, the party proposes using renewable energy to power 82 percent of Australia’s grid.

When will the results of the election be made public?

Ballot counting will begin on Saturday after 6pm Australian Eastern Time (08: 00 GMT) once polling stations close. After the election, the majority of postal votes are tallied.

According to Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a South Korea-based religious group, over 4,000 members of the church who recovered from COVID-19 are willing to donate plasma for developing a new treatment.

Mr. Man Hee Lee, founder of the Shincheonji Church, said that members of the church are advised to donate plasma voluntarily. “As Jesus sacrificed himself with his blood for life, we hope that the blood of people can bring positive effects on overcoming the current situation,” said Mr. Lee.