India summons top Pak diplomat after 5 big actions post-Pahalgam attack: Report
The Narendra Modi government announced five punitive steps against Pakistan, including the suspension of Indus Water Treaty.
India has summoned Saad Ahmad Warraich, Pakistan's top diplomat in Delhi, and handed over the formal persona non grata note for its military diplomats, ANI reported on Thursday, citing sources.
New Delhi's action comes a day after the Cabinet Committee on Security chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi took five punitive steps against Islamabad, including the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty.
Pahalgam terror attack coverage
“The Defence/Military, Naval and Air Advisors in the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi are declared Persona Non Grata. They have a week to leave India. India will be withdrawing its own Defence/Navy/Air Advisors from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. These posts in the respective High Commissions are deemed annulled. Five support staff of the Service Advisors will also be withdrawn from both High Commissions,” foreign secretary Vikram Misri said in a briefing held after the high-level meeting.
Meanwhile, investigators have identified five terrorists who carried out the attack in Pahalgam on Tuesday.
The three Pakistani nationals have been identified as Asif Fauji (code name Moosa), Suleman Shah (code name Yunus) and Abu Talha (code name Asif). Two other Valley-based operatives - Adil Guri, a local from Bijbehara in Anantnag who went to Pakistan in 2018, and Ahsan, a resident of Pulwama who also went to Pakistan in 2018 -- were also identified.
65 foreign terrorists active in J&K, say security officials
According to security officials, at least 65 foreign terrorists hailing from three different terror outfits are currently active in J&K. According to the latest updated record in March, 35 of these terrorists belonged to Lashkar-e-Taiba, whose proxy organisation The Resistance Front took responsibility for the Pahalgam attack.
Another 21 were from Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and three from the Hizbul Mujahideen (HM).
Terrorists opened fire at a famed meadow near Pahalgam town on Tuesday afternoon, killing at least 26 people, mostly tourists, in the deadliest attack in the valley since 2019.
