US supports India’s right to defend itself, says Rajnath Singh after call with US Defence Secy

The Cabinet briefing is likely to be held at 4 pm. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a while ago, chaired the second meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security at his residence in Lok Kalyan Marg.

At least 16 shawl sellers from Kashmir have left Mussoorie after two vendors were attacked, allegedly by locals, on April 23, police said, adding that three men have been arrested in connection with the case.

According to a police officer stationed in Mussoorie, two men selling Kashmiri shawls and clothes on the Mall Road in Mussoorie were assaulted by a group of men and asked to leave. In a video that has gone viral, the group hurls abuse at the two vendors and beats them repeatedly.

They are asked to produce their ID and told to leave the area. One of the vendors, Shabir Ahmed Dar from Kupwara, said they have been visiting the city for 18 years. “We visit Dehradun in the winter and Mussoorie in the summer. We live near the mosque and have known the locals for a long time. The men who assaulted us were also from the area and had seen us before. No one stood up for us. There are many workers from other states in Kashmir, but we have never misbehaved with anyone,” the 36-year-old said.

Aiswarya Raj reports

Holding her 18-month-old son tightly to her chest, Farheen sobs bitterly. “Uttar ja beta, uttar ja,” says her mother-in-law, Sadia, from inside the autorickshaw that has brought the family to the Attari-Wagah border, from where Farheen will leave her child and relatives behind and walk across the border to Pakistan.

Since April 25, the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Attari has witnessed scenes of heartbreak and farewells as Pakistan nationals, many of whom have lived in India for years, leave their families behind to cross over to the other side. Following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, India has taken a series of measures to ratchet up pressure on Pakistan — putting the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) on hold, downgrading diplomatic ties and shutting the Attari-Wagah border. It has also cancelled all short-term and special visas to Pakistan nationals. Islamabad responded by suspending visas issued to Indian nationals. However, long-term visas — usually valid for one to five years and issued by India to Pakistan and Bangladesh nationals who have close relatives holding Indian citizenship — have not been revoked.

Kamaldeep Singh Brar reports

As befits a democracy, India is engulfed in a debate about the suitable response to the outage at Pahalgam last week, which took 26 innocent lives. Many, including this author, have echoed the Prime Minister’s vow of strong retribution that will teach the perpetrators and their handlers in Pakistan a lesson they will never forget. Others have argued that war should be avoided. Indeed, the Prime Minister himself had famously declared that “this is not an era of war”. But it should not be an era of terrorism either. How then should India respond to Pahalgam?

Perhaps the best place to start is to ask ourselves what those malign men who sent the terrorists to the Baisaran Meadow in Pahalgam wished to achieve through their murderous actions. The objectives of the attack are clear: Stop peace and “normalisation” in Kashmir. Destroy tourism. Wreck the Kashmir economy to increase discontent there. Add to mistrust of Kashmiris among other Indians. Increase communal polarisation within India. Distract India from pursuing its economic growth; derail the “India story”. Internationalise Kashmir. Re-hyphenate India and Pakistan in the global imagination.

Shashi Tharoor writes

NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar backed the Congress demand for a special Parliament session Wednesday, after the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir. "Our allies have demanded for a special session. This session will be useful to send a message to the world that after this terror attack on India; entire country, all political parties and the society stand united." Pawar said.

In a post on the social media platform X, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar wrote, "Received a call from

UN Chief António Guterres. Appreciate his unequivocal condemnation of the terrorist attack in Pahalgam. Agreed on the importance of accountability. India is resolved that the perpetrators, planners and backers of this attack are brought to justice."

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati called for political unity in the wake of the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam Wednesday, urging all parties to support the government's actions rather than engage in political point-scoring.

Twenty-six people, mostly tourists, were killed on April 22 when some terrorists opened fire in a tourist hotspot in Jammu and Kashmir.

"All political parties should unite and stand with the government on every step taken in response to the Pahalgam terror attack," Mayawati wrote on social media platform X.

"This is not the time for provocative posters or statements aimed at petty politics as such actions are creating confusion among the public, which is not in the national interest." In a follow-up post, the BSP supremo cautioned parties against dragging the name of Dr BR Ambedkar into the political discourse surrounding the issue.

Ever since the Pahalgam terror attack, India and Pakistan have been in an intense diplomatic power play with both Delhi and Islamabad trying to mobilise international support.

As foreign ministries of both countries briefed foreign ambassadors in their capitals, Delhi also sent M Anand Prakash, Joint Secretary in charge of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran in the Ministry of External Affairs, to Kabul this week — Prakash handled the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the MEA.

Even before Prakash reached Kabul, the Foreign Ministry of Taliban-ruled Afghanistan condemned the Pahalgam terror attack.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan categorically condemns the recent attack on tourists in the Pahalgam region of Jammu and Kashmir, and expresses condolences to the bereaved families,” its spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi said.

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Pakistan minister Attatullah Tarar Wednesday accused India of preparing for imminent military action in the wake of the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, saying that Islamabad had “credible evidence” regarding it.

In a statement released on social media platform X late Monday evening, Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Information & Broadcasting Tarar claimed that Islamabad has “credible intelligence that India intends carrying out military action against Pakistan in the next 24-36 hours on the pretext of baseless and concocted allegations of involvement in the Pahalgam incident.”

The terrorist attack last week in Pahalgam had killed 26 civilians, mostly tourists. Since then, India has taken a slew of measures against Pakistan over the “cross-border linkages” of the terrorists. Pakistan, meanwhile, has denied any involvement.

India has also ramped up diplomatic outreach in recent days, briefing over 100 foreign missions in New Delhi and speaking with several world leaders.