Indian Border Guard forces kill Pakistani civilians and escalate regional tensions

Pakistani and Indian media reported that Indian border guard forces shot two Pakistani citizens near the border in the Punjab province on Friday, killing them, which increases tension between the two neighboring countries a year and a half after they retreated from the brink of war in disputed Kashmir.

Pakistani television, citing Pakistani security sources, said that three unarmed civilians, residents of the Kasur region in eastern Pakistan, took a few steps beyond one of the border signs, when members of the Indian Border Security Force opened fire on them.

Television reported that two of them were killed and the third was wounded, according to what was reported by the Associated Press.

There was no immediate comment from New Delhi, but Indian media reported a conflicting story, stating that there was suspicion that the men were trying to enter India.

The shooting came a day after the Pakistani army cast doubt on India's announcement that its security forces had killed a prominent leader of the extremist group Lashkar-e-Taiba in the part of Kashmir under Indian control, as the army presented a man it said India had mistakenly identified as the dead militant.

Taiwan received its first two American-made F-16V fighter jets on Friday, as part of the island's efforts to enhance its military capabilities with the aim of deterring any possible Chinese attack.

An Agence France-Presse correspondent reported that the two fighters landed at a Taiwanese Air Force base in Taitung, on the southeastern coast of the island, at noon (04:00 GMT).

China considers Taiwan part of its territory and has threatened to use force to control it, and Beijing also opposes US arms sales to the island.

These two aircraft are part of an $8 billion deal that includes 66 F-16V aircraft, a deal that was approved during the first term of US President Donald Trump and was scheduled to be delivered this year.

The arrival of the two planes comes at a time when Taiwan awaits US approval of a separate arms deal worth $14 billion.

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung threatened on Friday to take unspecified measures against Ukraine unless Kiev recognizes what Seoul describes as a secret agreement related to the transfer of two captured North Korean soldiers, and offers an apology.

Lee said in a post on “X”: “If the refusal to acknowledge the facts and make a public apology continues, we will take additional measures,” according to what was reported by the “Reuters” news agency.

Lee also expressed his "deep regret" over what he described as Ukrainian statements about an imminent military clash between the two Koreas, saying they amounted to incitement to war on the Korean Peninsula.

Seoul and Kiev have been locked in a diplomatic dispute since Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced at the United Nations General Assembly last month that his country had transferred to South Korea two North Korean prisoners of war while they were fighting alongside Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.

South Korea later accused Kiev of violating an agreement to keep the transfer secret to protect the two soldiers, while Ukrainian officials denied the existence of such an agreement.

Yesterday, Thursday, Ukrainian media quoted Foreign Minister Andriy Sipha as saying that Kiev is seeking to repair its relations with South Korea.

“I would not describe this as an accident,” Sibha told reporters during an event. "Let's say it's a diplomatic misunderstanding."

This dispute comes at a sensitive time for the Lee administration, which is seeking to ease tensions with North Korea, as it deals with the political repercussions resulting from a recent landmine incident in the demilitarized zone.