India unleashes 'hydro terror'

India menacingly ratcheted up tensions after hurling unsubstantiated allegations at Pakistan for the deadly rampage at a popular tourist resort in the illegally occupied Himalayan state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Delhi's response wasn't unexpected given an anti-Pakistan narrative the India media had been building since the attack in Pahalgam, a town in Anantnag district of IIOJK, killed at least 26 tourists on Tuesday.

While speaking at a news conference in New Delhi on Wednesday, India's foreign secretary Vikram Misri spelled out the punitive measures against Pakistan, which included suspension of the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan, closure of the Wagah-Attari border crossing, and downgrade of diplomatic ties.

A special cabinet committee meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided that the attack had "cross-border" links to Pakistan, he said without sharing any evidence of this publicly.

Gunmen killed 26 men — all Indian except one Nepali — and injured 17 others in Pahalgam in the deadliest attack on civilians in the disputed region for a quarter of a century. The attack plunged the already testy relations with Pakistan to their worst levels for several years.

The Resistance Front, a previously unknown group, claimed responsibility for the attack on social media. The group said Indian authorities had settled over 85,000 "outsiders" in the state and claimed that those targeted were not "ordinary tourists" but "were — affiliated with Indian security agencies".

Following the attack, Modi cut short his visit to Saudi Arabia and chaired the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS). After the meeting, the Indian foreign secretary said the CCS was briefed in detail on the terrorist attack in Pahalgam.

In the briefing to the CCS, Misri said, the cross-border linkages of the terrorist attack were brought out. It was noted that this attack came in the wake of "the successful holding of elections in the 'Union Territory' and its steady progress" towards economic growth and development.

"Recognising the seriousness of this terrorist attack, the CCS decided upon the following measures: (i) 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;

"(ii) The Integrated Check Post Attari will be closed with immediate effect. Those who have crossed over with valid endorsements may return through that route before 01 May 2025;

"(iii) Pakistani nationals will not be permitted to travel to India under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) visas. Any SVES visas issued in the past to Pakistani nationals are deemed cancelled. Any Pakistani national currently in India under SVES visa has 48 hours to leave India;

"(iv) The Defence/Military, Naval and Air Advisers in the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi are declared Persona Non Grata. They have a week to leave India. India will be withdrawing its own Defence/Navy/Air Advisers from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. These posts in the respective High Commissions are deemed annulled. Five support staff of the Service Advisers will also be withdrawn from both High Commissions; and,

"(v) The overall strength of the High Commissions will be brought down to 30 from the present 55 through further reductions, to be effected by 01 May 2025."

Misri said The CCS reviewed the overall security situation and directed all forces to maintain high vigil. It resolved that the perpetrators of the attack will be brought to justice and their sponsors held to account. As with the recent extradition of Tahawwur Rana, India will be unrelenting in the pursuit of those who have committed acts of terror, or conspired to make them possible.

The Indus Water Treaty, brokered by the World Bank in 1960, allows for sharing the waters of the Indus river system that is a lifeline for both countries, particularly for Pakistan's agriculture. The treaty has withstood two wars between the nuclear neighbours.

Meanwhile, Indian forces on Wednesday launched a manhunt for the attackers, as tens of thousands of police and soldiers fanned out across the region and erected additional checkpoints. They searched cars, used helicopters to search forested mountains and in some areas questioned several people.

Many shops and businesses in IIOJK were closed in protest against the killings. Police called the assault a "terror attack" and blamed the Kashmiri fighters. Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh vowed to "not only trace those who perpetrated the attack but also trace those who conspired."

Separately, India claimed its soldiers killed two people in a gunfight after they tried to "infiltrate" from Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) into the Baramulla district along the Line of Control. There was no independent confirmation of the deaths.

Indian home minister Amit Shah attended a ceremony at the police command centre in Srinagar, where the slain tourists were paid floral tributes. He also met with families of several victims. Later, Shah visited the site of the killing at Baisaran meadow, some 5 kilometres from the resort town of Pahalgam.