Omar Abdullah decries IMF loan to Pakistan as ‘reimbursement’ for attacks in J&K: How will tensions de-escalate if...

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah condemned the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) approval of roughly $1 billion in loan disbursements to Pakistan. He decried the IMF's loan while questioning the international community's call for de-escalation of border tensions between India and Pakistan.

The IMF’s executive board on Friday approved approximately $1 billion in loan disbursements to Pakistan amid its worsening conflict with India.

In a post on X on Saturday, Omar Abdullah questioned how de-escalation of India-Pakistan tension is possible when the IMF "essentially reimburses Pakistan" for the attacks it unleashed in several regions of Jammu and Kashmir.

"I’m not sure how the “International Community” thinks the current tension in the subcontinent will be de-escalated when the IMF essentially reimburses Pakistan for all the ordnance it is using to devastate Poonch, Rajouri, Uri, Tangdhar & so many other places," Omar Abdullah said.

India-Pakistan must ‘de-escalate’

The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister's statement came after the Group of Seven (G7) nations urged India and Pakistan to exercise maximum restraint and called for immediate de-escalation of their military conflict through dialogue.

"We call for immediate de-escalation and encourage both countries to engage in direct dialogue towards a peaceful outcome," the G7 said in a statement on Friday.

Early Saturday, Saudi Arabia said it was making efforts to de-escalate tensions between India and Pakistan, end current military confrontations, and promote the resolution of all disputes through dialogue and diplomatic channels.

Tensions between India and Pakistan increased after the Indian armed forces conducted precision strikes on May 7, targeting nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in response to the April 22 Pahalgam attack that had cross-border linkages.

Pakistan launched a fresh wave of drone attacks targeting 26 locations in India — from Jammu and Kashmir to Gujarat — for the second night on Friday, with the defence ministry saying the enemy's attempts to hit vital installations, including airports and air bases, were successfully thwarted.