Pahalgam terror attack: UN urges India and Pakistan to exercise ‘maximum restraint’

Union ministers Kiren Rijiju, Nirmala Sitaraman, JP Nadda, Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and others attend the all-party meeting called by the Central government over the Pahalgam terror attack in New Delhi on Thursday.

Pahalgam terror attack: During his visit to Bihar on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke out on the Pahalgam terror attack, asserting that the perpetrators and their masterminds would face consequences “beyond their imagination”. In his first public response to the incident in Baisaran, Pahalgam, which claimed the lives of at least 26 people on Tuesday, he stated, “India's spirit will never be broken by terrorism. Terrorism will not go unpunished.”

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by PM Modi on Wednesday decided on five key measures in response to the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir. Among them is the immediate suspension of the 1960 Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan, which will remain on hold until Islamabad ends its support for cross-border terrorism in a credible and irreversible manner.

The terror attack, which took place on Tuesday in South Kashmir’s Baisaran meadow near Pahalgam, left 26 people dead, most of them tourists. It is one of the deadliest strikes in the Valley since the 2019 Pulwama attack, in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed. The grieving families of the Pahalgam terror attack victims called on the government to take decisive action against those responsible for the brutal act as they mourned the loss of their loved ones.

In the wake of the violence, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha held a security review meeting to ensure swift implementation of Union home minister Amit Shah’s directives aimed at bringing the perpetrators to justice. Sinha affirmed the Centre’s full commitment to avenging the loss of innocent lives.

Following the attack, Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi returned to New Delhi early Thursday, cutting short his US visit. Prime Minister Modi and finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman also curtailed their international visits — to Saudi Arabia and the US, respectively — due to the incident.

How is India reacting?

• India has reduced diplomatic ties with Pakistan and announced several strong measures in response to the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians. The steps include expelling Pakistani military officials, suspending the Indus Water Treaty of 1960, and immediately shutting down the Attari land border crossing.

• These actions were decided a day after the attack during a Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The CCS approved five specific retaliatory steps, ordered security forces to stay on high alert, and vowed to bring the attackers to justice.

• Both countries will reduce their diplomatic staff in each other’s high commissions from 55 to 30 by May 1. Pakistani nationals will no longer be allowed entry into India under the SAARC visa exemption scheme, and those already in India on such visas must leave within 48 hours.

•India has declared the Defence, Military, Naval, and Air Advisors at the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi as persona non grata, giving them one week to leave the country. In a reciprocal move, India will also recall its own Defence, Navy, and Air Advisors from its High Commission in Islamabad. These positions in both missions are now considered dissolved. Additionally, five support staff members linked to the service advisors will be withdrawn from each high commission.

• Foreign secretary Vikram Misri said the measures were taken after the CCS was briefed on Pakistan’s cross-border links to the terror attack. The high-level meeting chaired by PM Modi lasted over two hours.