Pahalgam terror attack LIVE: India suspends Indus Water Treaty

Shubham Dwivedi, a 31-year-old businessman from Kanpur, got married just two months back, on February 12. On Tuesday, the Dwivedi household was rocked as news came in that Shubham was shot down right in front of his wife in Pahalgam.

Shubham, who ran a company dealing in cement, had gone to Kashmir on a week-long vacation on April 16 with his wife and nine other family members.

The group, including Shubham’s parents, sister, brother-in-law, and his sister’s in-laws, visited Sonamarg and Gulmarg before reaching Pahalgam.

According to Manoj Dwivedi, Shubham’s uncle living next-door in Kanpur, the newly-wed couple decided to go horse riding around noon on Tuesday while the rest of the family hung out near their hotel.

However, the couple’s joyride soon turned into a nightmare as two to three terrorists reportedly approached them, sought to know their identities before shooting Shubham in the head, killing him instantly in front of his wife, said Dwivedi, who received the tragic news from Shubham’s father Sanjay Dwivedi over phone.

According to Shubham’s cousin Saurabh Dwivedi, the terrorists first asked Shubham to recite a kalma (Islamic declaration of faith). As he failed to do so, they shot him on the head, Saurabh told media persons.

According to Saurabh, one of the terrorists reportedly turned to his wife after killing Shubham and said, “Tell your government what we did to your husband.”

The grieving family was scheduled to fly back to Delhi on Wednesday after completing their trip. Their relatives from Kanpur have left for the capital to receive the family and bring back Shubham's body to his hometown.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has visited a hospital in Anantnag to inquire about the condition of the persons injured in the Pahalgam terror attack.

Shah, who visited the scene of the gruesome killings at Baisaran in the morning, arrived at the Government Medical College (GMC) Hospital in the afternoon. The Home Minister was accompanied by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

Asserting that Pakistan was behind the Pahalgam terror attack, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Wednesday urged the government to declare Pakistan a “terrorist organisation” and file prosecution against that country in the International Criminal Court to give a message to the world that this is unacceptable.

Sibal cited Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir’s remarks describing Kashmir as Pakistan’s “jugular vein” to assert that it is clear that Pakistan is behind it.

“It’s a very well-thought-out, well-planned terrorist attack because the Baisaran (meadow) valley is just half an hour away from Pahalgam, which is a high-security zone...those who attacked knew you can’t reach the Baisaran valley from Pahalgam except on ponies and it will take time to reach there,” the Independent Rajya Sabha MP told PTI Videos.

The attack has been claimed by the Resistance Front, a shadow group of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba terror group.

“I would urge our home minister (Amit Shah) to include Pakistan as a terrorist organisation under the terror act. Just as other heads of state are being prosecuted in the international court, we should also file prosecution in the international criminal court that will give a message to the rest of the world as well as to the 1.4 billion people in India that we are not going to accept all this and urge the international community as well as America to boycott Pakistan,” Sibal said.

“This (Pakistan) is a failed state. It has become a terrorist state if you sponsor terrorism in this fashion,” he said.

Sibal said the intent of the terrorists was to instil fear in the minds of the people so that tourists don’t go to Jammu and Kashmir.

“It is so well planned, when they reached there, they segregated the men from the families... They knew that this was a place where non-Kashmiris go, non-locals are there, innocent people are there. With the statement of the Pakistan general, it is clear that Pakistan is behind it, and this should not be accepted,” the former Union minister said.

“The entire country stands by the government, and I am glad the PM cut short his [Saudi Arabia] visit, and the home minister is on the spot to take this forward,” Sibal said.

The Indian Film and Television Directors’ Association (IFTDA) on Wednesday expressed deep anguish against the Pahalgam terrorist attack.

In a statement, undersigned by IFTDA president Ashoke Pandit, the directors’ body condemned the attack and offered prayers to the ones affected by the incident.

“This cowardly and inhumane act of violence against innocent people is a direct heinous attack on the values of peace, humanity and unity that we all stand for, such senseless brutality has no place in any civilized society and must be universally condemned.

“IFTDA stands in complete solidarity with the victims and their families during the unimaginably difficult time. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who lost their loved ones and extend our heartfelt condolences to all those affected by this tragedy. May God bless the noble souls and give courage to the bereaved families to bear the irreparable loss,” the statement read.

Punjab has been put on high alert in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday holding a high-level security meeting to take stock of security arrangements in the state.