A solemn two-minute silence was observed at an all-party meeting convened in the national capital on Friday to pay tribute to the victims of the horrific terror attack in Pahalgam. The attack, which occurred on Tuesday at the scenic Baisaran meadow, claimed the lives of 25 Indian tourists and one Nepali national and left several others injured, marking one of the deadliest strikes in Jammu and Kashmir since the 2019 Pulwama bombing.
The Central government called the high-level all-party meeting to deliberate on the security implications of the attack and formulate a unified response. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh chaired the meeting, which witnessed the presence of several senior leaders across the political spectrum.
Among the attendees were Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP National President JP Nadda, Union Ministers Kiren Rijiju and S. Jaishankar, Congress President and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi. Other key leaders including Ram Gopal Yadav (SP), Supriya Sule (NCP-SP), Shrikant Shinde (NCP), Praful Patel (NCP), Prem Chand Gupta (RJD), Tiruchi Siva (DMK), Sasmit Patra (BJD), Sanjay Singh (AAP), Sudip Bandopadhyay (TMC), Mithun Reddy (YSRC), and Anil Baluni (BJP) were also present.
Earlier, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) convened under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In response to what it termed “an unforgivable act of cross-border terrorism,” India has initiated a series of strong diplomatic and strategic countermeasures against Pakistan.
Key decisions include:
- Suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 until Pakistan “credibly and irreversibly” ends its support for terrorism.
- Closure of the Integrated Attari Check Post — one of the few functional links between the two nations.
- Expulsion of Pakistani High Commission officials, who have been declared persona non grata and ordered to leave India within a week.
- Cancellation of visas issued under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme, with instructions for Pakistani nationals to exit the country within 48 hours.
- Immediate suspension of visa services for Pakistani citizens.
