Pahalgam terror attack LIVE: India suspends Indus Water Treaty
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh says that those responsible for the “cowardly terrorist attack” on innocent citizens will soon get a strong response
India on Wednesday (April 23) suspended the Indus Water Treaty and announced downgrading diplomatic ties with Pakistan, including expulsion of its military attaches in view of cross-border links to the Pahalgam terror attack.
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) met this evening under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and firmed up the responses to the terror attack.
The CCS decided that the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 will be held in abeyance with immediate effect, until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said at a media briefing.
Orders closure of Attari Border
The Integrated Check Post at Attari will be closed with immediate effect, he said.
Those who have crossed over with valid endorsements may return through that route before May 1, he said.
Misri said, "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, he said.
India will be withdrawing its own defence, navy and 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 Five support staff of the Service Advisors will also be withdrawn from both High Commissions," he said.
"The overall strength of the High Commissions will be brought down to 30 from the present 55 through further reductions, to be effected by May 1," he said.
Earlier, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that those responsible for the “cowardly terrorist attack” on innocent citizens will soon get a “strong response” to their nefarious acts on Indian soil.
Singh, while vowing a befitting reply, also said India will not only hunt down the people who perpetrated the attack but will also trace those “sitting behind the scenes” who had conspired to carry out the deadly act on Indian soil.
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Live Updates
- 23 April 2025 8:17 AM IST
#WATCH | J&K | Visuals from Anantnag; the Chamber & Bar Association Jammu has called for a complete shutdown in view of the #PahalgamTerroristAttack pic.twitter.com/KjkMdfRCep
— ANI (@ANI) April 23, 2025 - 23 April 2025 8:07 AM IST
Political parties in J-K support call for shutdown on Wednesday
Various organisations called for a shutdown in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday to protest the terror attack in Pahalgam resort in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed.
Supporting the bandh call, the ruling National Conference said, "On the instruction of the Party President, JKNC joins the collective call for a bandh in strong condemnation of the Pahalgam terror attack. We appeal to the people of J&K to ensure the 'hartal' called by religious and social leaders is a complete success." Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti and Peoples' Conference president Sajad Lone announced support for the bandh call given by Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Jammu Bar Association, while Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq also called for a shutdown on Wednesday.
"The Chamber & Bar Association Jammu has called for a complete shutdown tomorrow in protest against the horrific militant attack on tourists. I appeal all Kashmiris to unite in solidarity to support this bandh as a mark of respect for the innocent lives lost in the brutal assault in Pahalgam," Mehbooba said on X.
She said this isn't just an attack on a select few, "it is an attack on all of us".
"We stand together in grief and outrage & strongly support this shutdown to condemn the massacre of innocents," Mufti added.
Lone, the Peoples' Conference chief, also supported the shutdown call.
"I appeal to people of Kashmir to express their outrage in whatever form against the brutal killings in Pahalgam. I personally support a shutdown by business and travel associations and silent protests across all villages and towns," he said.
Mirwaiz, who also heads Mutahida Majlis Ulema (MMU), an amalgam of several religious bodies, appealed to the people of J-K to protest the heinous crime by marking a shutdown on Wednesday.
"Whoever kills an innocent soul, it is as if he had slain mankind entirely (Al Quran). Another day of carnage in the blood soaked history of Kashmir when visiting tourists in a most gruesome manner are mercilessly killed," the Mirwaiz said.
"Such gruesomeness is abhorred in Islam, which is essentially a religion of peace and goodwill, and against all human ethics. The Islamic fraternity of Jammu and Kashmir through Mutahida Majlis Ulema (MMU) in support and solidarity with the bereaved families of those killed appeal to people of Jammu Kashmir to peacefully protest this heinous crime tomorrow by a shutdown," he added.
Several organisations, including trade bodies, have also called for a bandh on Wednesday to protest the attack.
Meanwhile, the Private Schools' Association of Jammu and Kashmir (PSAJK) expressed deep anguish and unequivocal condemnation of the heinous terrorist attack.
As a mark of respect and solidarity with the victims and their families, PSAJK has announced the closure of all private schools across Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday. PSAJK president G N Var said, "We strongly condemn the terrorist attack at Pahalgam and stand in unwavering solidarity with the bereaved families. The closure of schools is a symbolic gesture to express our collective grief and outrage and to reaffirm our commitment to peace and humanity."
- 23 April 2025 8:06 AM IST
Uttarakhand CM condemns terror attack
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami condemned the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam that killed 26 people, mostly tourists, terming it an “inhuman and barbaric act”.
He said terrorism is an attack on the values of culture, peace and humanity.
"This terror attack is an inhuman and barbaric act against humanity. My deepest condolences to the families who lost their loved ones in this cowardly attack,” he said in a social media post and added that the attempt of terrorists to disturb peace in Jammu and Kashmir will never succeed.
Dhami said, "These terrorists will definitely get a befitting reply for this act."
- 23 April 2025 8:02 AM IST
Three from Maharashtra among 26 killed
Three tourists from Maharashtra were among the 26 people who were gunned down by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on Tuesday, officials said.
Pune residents Santosh Jagdale and Kaustubh Ganbote, who had sustained gunshot wounds in the terror attack have been declared dead, officials said on Tuesday.
The two were part of a five-member group comprising Jagdale, his wife Pragati, daughter Asavari, Ganbote and Sangita Ganbote, who had travelled to Pahalgam on Tuesday.
When contacted, the 24x7 Help Desk-Emergency Control Room for Tourists, set up at the District Headquarters in Srinagar, confirmed the deaths of both Jagdale and Ganbote.
Santosh Jagdale, daughter Asavari told PTI that her father and uncle were shot by terrorists.
“There were several tourists around, but the terrorists specifically targeted male after asking whether they were Hindus or Muslims,” she said while speaking to PTI.
"They then asked my father to recite an Islamic verse (probably the Kalma). When he failed to do so, they pumped three bullets into him, one on the head, one behind the ear and another in the back," she said.
She said the incident occurred on their first day in the region. “After the firing started, we ran along with other tourists. Later, the Indian Army reached the spot and rescued us.” Asawari said that her father had suffered bullet injuries in head and chest.
Mumbai resident Atul Mone (45), a Central Railways employee, was also among those killed in the terror attack, an official said.
The 45-year-old mechanical engineer had joined the Central Railways as a junior engineer in 2000 and was currently working as a senior section engineer at the wheel shop in the Parel Workshop, the official said.
Sources said Mone, a resident of Dombivli, had gone to Jammu and Kashmir earlier this week with his family and friends.
According to union sources, the railway authorities are also trying to contact Mone’s family members, as they might require support, though state authorities are arranging necessary relief.
- 23 April 2025 7:55 AM IST
PM Modi meets NSA, foreign minister
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday morning at the airport upon his arrival from Saudi Arabia to discuss the situation following the terror attack in Pahalgam.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri was also part of the meeting, officials said.
Terrorists struck a prime tourist location of Pahalgam in south Kashmir on Tuesday, killing at least 26 people and injuring several others, according to officials.
The 26 dead included two foreigners - from the UAE and Nepal - and two locals, officials said.
Modi cut short his trip to Saudia Arabia to return, while Home Minister Amit Shah rushed to Jammu and Kashmir to spearhead the security measures following the most gruesome attack targeting tourists in the valley in a long spell of time.
- 23 April 2025 7:53 AM IST
FM Sitharaman cuts short US, Peru visit after J-K terror attack
Following the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is cutting short her official visit to the US and Peru and will depart for India at the earliest, according to an official statement on Wednesday.
Sitharaman arrived in the US on Sunday for a six-day visit, after which she was scheduled to travel to Peru for a five-day trip.
"Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. @nsitharaman is cutting short her official visit to the USA-Peru. She is taking the earliest available flight back to India to be with our people in this difficult and tragic time," the Finance Ministry said in a post on X.
- 23 April 2025 7:51 AM IST
'Deeply saddened’: Italian PM Giorgia Meloni
Deeply saddened by the terrorist attack that occurred today in India, which caused numerous victims. Italy expresses its closeness to the families affected, the injured, the Government and all the Indian people.
