Pahalgam terror attack LIVE | Rahul to meet the injured in Anantnag tomorrow
Pak says attempt to divert water under Indus Waters Treaty will be considered Act of War; announces suspension of trade, bilateral accords, airspaces with India
The Centre convened an all-party meeting on the Pahalgam terror attack on Thursday (April 24) evening, where it briefed the leaders of various political parties on the attack and heard their views.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was in Bihar addressing pre-election rallies, did not attend the meeting. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh chaired the meeting, which was also attended by Home Minister Amit Shah, External Affair Minister S Jaishankar and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Jaishankar and Shah met President Droupadi Murmu during the day.
Pakistan's counter-measures
Across the border, Pakistan said any move to divert water meant for it under the Indus Water Treaty would be considered an Act of War as it announced the suspension of trade, bilateral accords, including the Simla Agreement, and airspaces with India. These were among other moves in retaliation to New Delhi's measures against the country in the wake of the Pahalgam attack.
The announcements were made after a meeting chaired by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to formulate the country's response to India's move to suspend the Indus Water Treaty and downgrade diplomatic ties after the Pahalgam terror attack.
Modi’s tough talk
In his first statement since the April 22 carnage, Modi, speaking from Bihar, sent a stern warning to the perpetrators of the attack and asserted that India would identify, track and punish every terrorist involved in the incident and their backers “beyond their imagination”.
“This attack was not merely on unarmed tourists; the country’s enemies have dared to attack the soul of Bharat (India),” he said. “Every effort will be made to ensure that justice is served. The entire nation stands firm in this resolve.”
We “will pursue them (Pahalgam attackers) to the end of earth. India’s spirit will never be broken by terrorism,” Modi chose to state in English. Before starting his speech, Modi, along with the public, observed a minute of silence to pay homage to the 26 Pahalgam victims.
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Live Updates
- 24 April 2025 3:39 AM GMT
Body of AP man killed in Pahalgam flown to Chennai, taken to Nellore
The mortal remains of Andhra Pradesh native S Madhusudhan, killed in the April 22 terror attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam, were flown here in the early hours of Thursday.
Chiefs of Tamil Nadu BJP and Congress units, Nainar Nagendran and K Selvaperunthagai, respectively, and AIADMK's KP Kandan paid tributes to the mortal remains of Madhusudhan.
The body, which reached here around 2 AM on Thursday, was later transported to Nellore in Andhra Pradesh by an ambulance.
Madhusudan, who was an IT employee from Nellore district, is settled in Bengaluru.
- 24 April 2025 3:37 AM GMT
Centre to brief leaders at all-party meet
The Centre will brief leaders of various political parties on the Pahalgam terror attack and hear their views at an all-party meeting to be held on Thursday evening.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah are expected to brief the leaders, official sources said. Singh will chair the meeting.
With the government announcing a host of measures targeting Pakistan in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack where terrorists killed at least 26 persons, mostly tourists, on Tuesday, sources said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar may also speak at the meeting.
The decision to call an all-party meeting was taken on Wednesday, with Singh and Shah reaching out to various parties.
There has been a convention for calling an all-party meeting following an incident with serious repercussions related to national security, as was seen after the Pulwama terror attack in 2019 or during the India-China standoff in 2020.
It helps present a picture of national unity in moments of crises and allows the opposition leaders to convey their views to the government and be briefed in detail on the official position.
- 24 April 2025 3:03 AM GMT
Bodies of 3 tourists reach Gujarat; CM, MoS Home to attend last rites
The bodies of three tourists hailing from Gujarat, who were among the 26 persons killed in the terror attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam, have reached Ahmedabad and Surat, officials said.
Shailesh Kalathiya from Surat, Yatish Parmar and his son Smit from Bhavnagar were among those killed in the horrific terror attack in Pahalgam on Tuesday.
The mortal remains of Yatish Parmar and his son Smit were brought to Ahmedabad airport in a flight from Mumbai. Kalathiya's body was brought to Surat airport in another flight on Wednesday night.
Gujarat Health Minister Rushikesh Patel and Minister of State for Health Harsh Sanghavi paid floral tributes to the departed souls at the airport here, an official release said.
From the airport, the bodies of Parmar and his son were taken to Bhavnagar in a mortuary van, it said.
At Surat airport, Union minister CR Paatil and other dignitaries paid floral tributes to Kalathiya after his mortal remains were brought from Mumbai.
Kalathiya's wife and two children, who survived the attack, were also brought to Surat by the same flight.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has already reached Bhavnagar as he will attend the last rites of Yatish and Smit Parmar on Thursday.
MoS Home Harsh Sanghavi will attend the last rites of Kalathiya in Surat on Thursday morning, said an official release.
Kalathiya's family said his father Himmatbhai, who lives in Amreli district, has reached Surat.
Kalathiya (44), who belonged to Chikuwadi area in Surat city, shifted to Mumbai four years ago due to a job transfer. He had gone to Pahalgam with his wife and two children.
Yatish Parmar and his son Smit, residents of Kaliyabid area of Bhavnagar city, were among 19 persons from Bhavnagar who went to Kashmir on April 16 to attend religious preacher Morari Bapu's discourse in Srinagar, sources said.
Bhavnagar collector Manish Kumar Bansal on Wednesday said other tourists were also scheduled to reach Mumbai from Srinagar by the same flight and then they will be brought to Bhavnagar in a luxury bus from Mumbai.
- 24 April 2025 3:00 AM GMT
#WATCH | Pune, Maharashtra | NCP-SCP leader Sharad Pawar arrived at the residence of Santosh Jagdale, who lost his life in the Pahalgam terror attack, and interact with the grieving family pic.twitter.com/hk5CBKD0w3
— ANI (@ANI) April 24, 2025 - 24 April 2025 2:59 AM GMT
#WATCH | J&K | Morning visuals from Pahalgam, where a horrific terror attack took place on the 22nd of April, claiming the lives of 26 people, including 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen. #PahalgamTerroristAttack pic.twitter.com/fT7VNKcEhv
— ANI (@ANI) April 24, 2025 - 24 April 2025 2:56 AM GMT
Airlines operate 59 flights from Srinagar; govt says airfares kept at reasonable levels
Airlines on Wednesday operated 59 flights from Srinagar, including seven additional services, to ferry tourists and bodies of 25 Pahalgam terror attack vicitms to their destinations along with 123 accompanying family members.
The Civil Aviation Ministry said air ticket prices on the route were being kept at reasonable levels amid a large number of tourists looking to return from Jammu and Kashmir in the aftermath of the terror attack, the deadliest in the Valley since the 2019 Pulwama incident.
A senior ministry official said 52 scheduled and seven additional flights were operated from the Srinagar airport on Wednesday to clear the rush of stranded passengers. Twenty-five bodies were sent to their destinations by flights along with 123 accompanying family members, the official said.
As many as 3,337 passengers flew out of Srinagar in 20 flights between 6 am and 12 pm on Wednesday. IndiGo, Air India and SpiceJet operated seven flights in addition to their scheduled services.
Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said on Wednesday that airline companies have been strictly instructed to avoid any fare surge. They have been told that charges were being monitored to keep those reasonable, he said.
His comments came against the backdrop of some websites apparently showing ticket prices of over Rs 50,000 for flights to Srinagar.
The country's largest airline IndiGo said that in view of the emergent situation, it has taken steps to keep the fares moderate.
Air India said fares for its flights from Srinagar to Mumbai and Delhi have been capped to ensure affordability.
"Any high fares shown on booking sites may be due to multi-stop routes or higher cabin classes, offering a mix of direct and indirect options," the airline said in a post on X.
The minister also emphasised that efforts were being made to ensure safe travel of tourists from Srinagar. Naidu said that all airlines operating from Srinagar have waived cancellation and rescheduling charges to support passengers.
At the Srinagar airport, a control room has been set up to help passengers with their journey.
- 24 April 2025 2:55 AM GMT
Entire country should stand with one accord to support PM: Naidu
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday appealed to the people to stand with one accord under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and support his "every programme" at a time when the country has been shaken by a heinous terrorist attack.
Addressing a press conference at Visakhapatnam after paying tribute to J C Chandra Mouli, one of the 26 tourists shot dead, the chief minister said people should "extend complete cooperation" to the Prime Minister and also stay vigilant.
"All of us should stand unified, with one word. We should not only extend support to every programme of the Prime Minister but also give complete cooperation. We should also be vigilant against infiltrators," said Naidu.
Naidu said the timing of the attack, especially when US Vice-President J D Vance was visiting the country and Prime Minister Modi was on an overseas visit, raises suspicion.
- 24 April 2025 2:51 AM GMT
#WATCH | Pune, Maharashtra | The mortal remains of Santosh Jagdale brought to his residence at Pune for the final rites.
— ANI (@ANI) April 24, 2025
Santosh Jagdale lost his life in the #PahalgamTerroristAttack on 22 April. pic.twitter.com/ypBqsPhJZN
