Pakistan condoles death of tourists in Pahalgam terror attack, says Foreign Office
Islamabad(PTI): Pakistan on Wednesday said it condoles the death of tourists in the terror attack in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 26 people.
“We are concerned at the loss of tourists’ lives in an attack in Anantnag district. We extend our condolences to the near ones of the deceased and wish the injured a speedy recovery,” Foreign Office spokesperson said responding to media queries about the attack.
Terrorists opened fire in Pahalgam on Tuesday afternoon, killing 26 people, mostly tourists, in what is the deadliest attack in the Valley since the Pulwama strike in 2019.
On Tuesday, The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), claimed responsibility for the attack.
Officials said it was possible the terror group members had crossed over from Kishtwar in Jammu and reached Baisaran through Kokernag in south Kashmir.
Days earlier, Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir described Kashmir as Pakistan's “jugular vein,” triggering a sharp response from New Delhi.
“Our stance is very clear, it was our jugular vein, it will be our jugular vein, and we will not forget it. We will not leave our Kashmiri brothers in their heroic struggle,” Gen Munir said while addressing the first Overseas Pakistanis Convention in Islamabad on April 15.
The event was also attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, senior ministers and Pakistanis living abroad.
India had slammed Munir's remarks.
“How can anything foreign be in a jugular vein? This is a Union territory of India. Its only relationship with Pakistan is the vacation of illegally occupied territories by that country,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
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Andhra to be developed as knowledge, creator economy hub: CM Naidu
New Delhi/Amaravati (PTI): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday said the state is taking steps to transform itself into a knowledge and creator economy hub with a strong focus on artificial intelligence and quantum technology.
He noted that Andhra Pradesh has abundant tech-driven youth and the government is formulating plans to train them in futuristic technologies with support from global technology firms.
"Our goal is to transform Andhra Pradesh into a knowledge hub by focusing on AI, quantum computing, data centres, drone cities and space cities. The youth will remain our biggest asset over the next 25 years, and we seek global partnerships to scale up the creator economy," said Naidu during his interactions at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in Delhi.
Naidu, who participated in the summit in the national capital, also held meetings with several global technology leaders and industrialists to explore collaborations in artificial intelligence, clean energy and innovation ecosystems.
He met Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, Autodesk AI Head Mike Haley, Aramco India Director Abdul Rehman AiThukair, LEGO Education Vice President Tom Hall, Aadhaar Founder and CTO Srikanth Nadhamuni, Khosla Ventures Managing Partner Vinod Khosla and others at the AP Pavilion.
The chief minister also held discussions with Saudi Aramco representatives on clean energy projects, including solar initiatives, and invited the company to expand operations in Andhra Pradesh, stating that the state is highly suitable for green energy production.
He sought support from NVIDIA Vice President Callista Redmond for establishing AI Living Labs and proposed partnerships through the Ratan Tata Innovation Hub to promote youth innovation, including collaborations with IIT Tirupati and Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati under the Andhra Pradesh Future Innovation and Research for Science and Technology (AP FIRST) initiative.
Naidu urged Autodesk leadership to support the development of Global Capability Centres in design engineering and requested the establishment of an Innovation Academy in Amaravati aligned with quantum technology, besides proposing AI and robotics learning labs in partnership with LEGO Education.
He also discussed AI-driven smart governance solutions with Quantela Inc Chairman Sridhar Gadhi, while World Bank Group Digital AI Regional Director Mahesh Uttamchandani met Naidu on the sidelines of the summit.
Following the meetings, Naidu visited various exhibition stalls at the summit, including those of NVIDIA, Tata, Intel and Microsoft, and reviewed AI applications across agriculture, healthcare and industry.
