Pahalgam attack news highlights: Pakistan claims Indian attack imminent amid tensions

Former cricketer and AAP MP Harbhajan Singh condemned the attack on tourists in Pahalgam that killed 26 people. The off-spinner offered his prayers at Shri Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain on Tuesday.

“This attack is very unfortunate, and we all should take strict action against terrorists, and it will not be tolerated that someone enters our country and kills our people, and we remain silent,” Singh said.

The Pakistani military is expected to address the media by 6.30 pm PST.

-Inputs from Rezaul Laskar

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis said, "Today, the cabinet made a decision to help those who were killed in the #PahalgamTerroristAttack. Our government will provide compensation of ₹50 lakhs to the families of the deceased...Where there is no earning member, we will provide government job to the immediate family member of deceased."

PM Narendra Modi chaired a key meeting with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, the Chief of Defence Staff Anil Chauhan and the chiefs of the three Armed Forces services.

The National Security Guard (NSG) and police carried out a mock security drill at the ancient Aap Shambhu temple complex and nearby areas in Jammu on Tuesday, an official said.

Supported by security equipment and unmanned surveillance systems, the exercise aimed to improve security and keep the public safe. It involved realistic emergency situations to test how well different security teams could work together and respond to possible threats.

"It is a routine exercise. We have conducted similar mock drills at GMC Hospital and the railway station. Such drills also occur regularly at vital installations," said a police officer.

As the J&K administration prepares to deport hundreds of Pakistani women, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said she is hopeful of a sympathetic view by the home ministry which will allow them to live in India.

“An advisory has been issued for Pakistani nationals (living in India). Some women have been married for 30-40 years and their home is India. They consider themselves Indians and where will they go?...I am hopeful that the Union Home Minister will take a sympathetic view. They have never done anything against the country and they consider themselves Indians, not Pakistanis,” Mufti said.

Authorities in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday have set the ball rolling for the deportation of 60 Pakistanis, one of them the mother of Shaurya Chakra awardee who was killed in a terror attack, officials said.

Shameema Akhtar, the mother of Constable Mudasir Ahmad Shaikh, who died in May 2022 while fighting terrorists, is one of the deportees.

Mudasir was part of the team of undercover operatives of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, which intercepted a group of foreign terrorists.

Shaikh was posthumously awarded the Shaurya Chakra. Shameema, accompanied by her husband, received the award from President Droupadi Murmu in Delhi in May 2023.

“My sister-in-law is from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, which is our territory. Only Pakistanis should have been deported,” an apparently not happy Mohammad Younus, Mudasir's uncle, told reporters. (PTI)

A first-year Bachelor of Pharmacy student, hailing from J&K's Doda, was allegedly thrashed by a group of locals on Sunday in the Kamptee area.

A police official said the incident happened when they returning to their hostel. A group of locals started questioning the student standing on the roadside and sought to know from where he had come. The student was thrashed as he was unable to answer their ‘questions.’

J&K Students Association office-bearer Nasir Khuehami, who posted urged Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to intervene in the matter.

Karnataka Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said the Congress party's “Gayab” post was meant to convey the message that PM Modi must speak to the people directly about the Pahalgam attack.

“What Congress wanted to say was - where is Mr Modi, is he addressing the media? Is he clarifying anything? Can people ask him what has happened? Pulwama helped him in his Lok Sabha elections, Godhra helped him in his Gujarat elections, and now he is using it for Bihar elections. You should think of the country first. This is why the poster was put out. We want him to come and talk to the people,” Rao told ANI.

Former Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel urged the Centre to convene a special session of Parliament and noted that the opposition stands with the government in its fight against terrorism.

“The leader of the opposition of both houses (Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge) has written a letter. If a special session can be convened in J&K, why can't it be convened here? The special session should be convened. The opposition has said in one voice that they are with the government in the fight against terrorism...The government should tell who is responsible for the deaths of people in the Pahalgam terrorist attack. Who is responsible for the security lapse?... The public wants action to be taken against those behind the attacks,” Baghel said.

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that kins of those killed in the Pahalgam terror attack will be given government jobs.

The state government will also give ₹50 lakh each to families of 6 state natives killed in Pahalgam terror attack, Fadnavis announced after the cabinet meeting.

Democratic Progressive Azad Party President Ghulam Nabi Azad said protests by the people of J&K against the Pahalgam attack was organic and spontaneous. He also noted the large scale participation of Muslims in protests against terrorism.

"Earlier, people used to come to the streets only when the protests were leader-sponsored. This was the first time I saw people taking the initiative and coming to the streets. People condemned the terrorist attack at religious places. For the first time, I have seen such an anti-terrorist environment in Kashmir among Muslims...If the protests were covered by the media properly, Pakistan would have got a good reply...There is no sympathy for Pakistan in the hearts of Kashmiris."

Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party leader Sanjay Saraf said the kind of killings in Pahalgam terror attack was an affront to the warm hospitality with a thousand years of history in Kashmir.

He also urged the Centre to catch the perpetrators and “hang them at Lal Chowk” to bring justice to the people of Kashmir.

“A youngster Adil from here sacrificed his life to save the guest, but still people are doubting us. But I want to tell the citizens of the country to visit Kashmir. They have attacked the livelihood of Kashmir. I want to give a message to Congress that they will lose every state, they will have to leave their office in Delhi as well. Everyone wants to avenge these killings, but Congress is denying. Pakistan Army chief has openly accepted that they are supporting militancy in last 30 years,” Saraf said.

Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan alleged that “some political parties and leaders” are politicising the Pahalgam terror attack to gain advantage.

“It is very unfortunate that on such a serious issue, some political parties and leaders are trying to gain political advantage. This is a challenge against the entire country — we must face it unitedly and deliver a strong message to our enemy, Pakistan.”

Reacting to Congress' 'Gayab' post on PM Modi, BJP leader Gaurav Bhatia said, "They are giving signals to Pakistan that in this terrorist attack, the Congress party stands with Pakistan and not with their own nation...This is not an innocent post by the Congress party. It is a sinister, poisonous design trying to weaken the integrity of our nation and target the Prime Minister of the country."

PDP spokesperson Mohammad Iqbal Trumboo reacted to the 'Allahu Akbar' chants of a zipline operator in Pahalgam on the day of the terror attack and told news agency ANI, "They don't know anything about our culture. Whenever there is a disaster, every Kashmiri says Allahu Akbar. At the time of any incident, we remember Allah."

"Everything is being done to hide the failure... Police and security will have to change their system... This has nothing to do with militancy and the common Kashmiri would always cry out loud, Bismillah, Allahu Akbar if something happens...They are misinformed about everything," he added.

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday announced financial assistance of ₹50 lakh for the families of the deceased state residents, who lost their lives in the Pahalgam terror attack.

A statement from the state government said that it will also focus on education and employment needs of these families. It said that the girl from the family of deceased Pune business Jagdale will be given a government job.

Shiv Sena leader Shaina NC reacted to the 'controversial' statements given by Congress leaders on the Pahalgam terror attack and said, "This is the time when all citizens of the country need to stay united and have faith in the government."

"During the all-party meeting, they all said they stand with the government and now they are giving such statements behind the back," she told news agency ANI.

The Indian government on Tuesday blocked the X account of Pakistani defence minister Khawaja Asif in the wake of the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam that killed 26 persons, mostly tourists.

The action comes just a day after 16 Pakistani YouTube channels with a total of 63 million subscribers were banned in India for spreading 'provocative and communally sensitive content'.

DMK leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi on Tuesday expressed concerns over the alleged 'politicisation' of the recent Pahalgam terror attack, warning that such acts pose a risk to natural security.

"The terrorist attack has affected everyone to a great extent. It is a very sad incident. We are witnessing an environment where it is being politicised. The union government is creating an environment where it is dangerous to turn this into a different direction," she said.

"The failures of the union government should be accepted and corrected. Without correcting them, the country's security cannot be ensured. When an attack takes place, politicising it and creating certain situations to gain profit from it will be a huge loss for the country's security," she added.

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday said that "divisive forces" must be spreading "communal hate" on social media following the Pahalgam terror attack must be identified and dealt with in order to ensure peace and harmony.

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma took to X and announced that at least 27 persons have been arrested in his state so far for "defending Pakistan on Indian soil" after the Pahalgam terror attack.

He said that the number of arrests made was till Monday night. "27 Anti Nationals nabbed so far," he posted.

BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari on Tuesday slammed the Congress party and claimed that it was acting in accordance with Pakistan.

"The Congress party is taking its orders from Pakistan. The same tweet of the Congress party was quote-tweeted by the former minister of Pakistan. So today it has become clear before the country that a 'jugalbandi' is going on between Congress and the deep state of Pakistan," Bhandari told news agency ANI.

He also said that India would respond strongly to any threat from Islamabad in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack.

The Union Cabinet will meet on Wednesday for the first time since the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, that left 26 people dead.

The meeting will take place under the chairmanship of PM Modi at 11 am on Wednesday, April 30.