10 killed in avalanche in Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan region
Islamabad (PTI): At least 10 people of a nomadic tribe were killed and 25 injured when an avalanche hit the Gilgit-Baltistan region in Pakistan on Saturday, police said.
According to the police, 10 people, including three women were killed in the calamity in the Shunter Top area of Astore district in the mountainous region.
"Rescue work was launched with the help of locals and later the Pakistan Army soldiers also joined the operation," the police said.
As many as 25 people of Gujjar family were travelling along with their cattle from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to Astore when they were hit by the avalanche, Dawn News quoted rescue officials as saying.
The injured persons were taken to District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital Astore, where the condition of 12 was critical.
Earlier, Deputy Inspector General of Police for the Diamer-Astore Division, Tufail Mir, said rescue teams were facing challenges in reaching the affected area due to its remote location and difficult terrain.
Force Command Northern Areas, a military formation of the Pakistan Army, provided helicopter service, relief items and paramedical staff to assist with the rescue operation, but they could not be flown "to the site due to bad weather conditions".
The district administration is closely monitoring the rescue operation while an emergency had been imposed in DHQ Hospital Astore and Combined Military Hospital Skardu, the official said.
Chief Secretary Mohiuddin Wani confirmed the mishap and said rescue teams were working in the affected area.
Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Khalid Khurshid Khan expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives and instructed local authorities to initiate rescue operations.
He called upon the secretary interior, director general of GBDMA (Gilgit Baltistan Disaster Management Authority) and other officials to look into the incident immediately.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in a tweet expressed deep sorrow over the loss of precious lives in the avalanche, adding that such incidents were increasing in Pakistan due to the effects of climate change.
"The whole world has to fulfil its responsibility to protect developing countries like Pakistan from these harmful effects," he said.
Five out of 14 world peaks above the height of 8,000 metres are located in the region. In addition to this, Gilgit-Baltistan has over 7,000 glaciers and often witnesses avalanches, landslides, and glacial lake outbursts.
In a tragic incident in 2012, at least 129 Pakistan Army soldiers and 11 civilians lost their lives when a massive avalanche hit their camp in the Gayari area, some 300 kilometres northeast of Skardu district.
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Markets continue to trade lower amid rising India-Pak tensions; Sensex tanks nearly 800 points
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Mumbai (PTI): Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty continued to trade sharply lower on Friday late morning session as tensions soared between India and Pakistan fuelling fears of a wider conflict.
India on Thursday night swiftly thwarted Pakistan's fresh attempts to strike military sites with drones and missiles including in Jammu and Pathankot after foiling similar bids at 15 places in northern and western regions of the country, as tensions soared between the two countries.
The Indian armed forces on Wednesday had carried out precise missile strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Pakistan under ‘Operation Sindoor’.
Extending its previous day's decline, the 30-share BSE benchmark gauge tanked 771.01 points to 79,566.02 during the late morning trade. The NSE Nifty dropped 205.55 points to 24,068.25.
"Under normal circumstances, on a day like this, the market would have suffered deep cuts. But this is unlikely due to two reasons. One, the conflict, so far, has demonstrated India's clear superiority in conventional warfare, and therefore, further escalation of the conflict will inflict huge damage to Pakistan.
"The market is inherently resilient, supported by global and domestic macros. Weak dollar and potentially weakening US and Chinese economies are good for the Indian markets," VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
From the Sensex firms, Power Grid, ICICI Bank, NTPC, Eternal, UltraTech Cement, Adani Ports, Bajaj Finserv and Bajaj Finance were among the laggards.
Larsen & Toubro jumped 4 per cent after the firm reported a 25 per cent increase in consolidated profit after tax (PAT) to Rs 5,497 crore for the quarter ended on March 31, 2025, supported by higher revenues and an exceptional gain.
Titan Company traded nearly 4 per cent higher after the Tata group firm reported a 13 per cent increase in its consolidated profit after tax at Rs 871 crore in the March quarter, driven by robust sales.
Tata Motors, State Bank of India, Asian Paints and Mahindra & Mahindra were also the gainers.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 2,007.96 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
"Profit-taking is likely to continue as investors fearing worse going ahead could trim their equity holdings despite the global mood remaining optimistic," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi and Shanghai's SSE Composite index were quoting lower, while Japan's Nikkei 225 index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng traded higher.
US markets ended in the positive territory on Thursday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.53 per cent to USD 63.17 a barrel.
On Thursday, the BSE Sensex declined by 411.97 points or 0.51 per cent to settle at 80,334.81. The Nifty ended lower by 140.60 points or 0.58 per cent at 24,273.80.
