LIVE Pahalgam attack: Rahul leads Cong candle march in homage to victims

An overnight standoff at the Line of Control (LoC) followed Pakistan’s statement yesterday asserting that it reserves the right to suspend all bilateral agreements with India, including the Simla Accord.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani flag on the historic table at Raj Bhawan in Simla, on which the accord was signed, was conspicuous by its absence this morning, a day after Pakistan suspended the agreement signed in 1972.

The suspension of the Simla Accord by Pakistan was in response to retaliatory actions taken by India in the aftermath of the massacre of 26 tourists in Pahalgam in an attack by suspected Pakistan-backed terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday.

In other news, Congress MP and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi visited Pahlagam today, meeting survivors and speaking to the injured

Pakistan on Friday said it "has the option" to revoke the Simla Agreement if India escalates the conflict between the two countries.

In a related development, Pakistan Rangers refused to hand over a BSF jawan who had inadvertently strayed to the other side, for the third straight day on Friday, and remained non-committal on his whereabouts, official sources said.

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Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi joined the Congress' candle march to pay homage to the Pahalgam terror attack victims.

The march extended from the party's former headquarters on 24 Akbar Road to Tees January Marg in Lutyen's Delhi, and culminated at Birla House, where Mahatma Gandhi was shot dead in 1948.

Gandhi was accompanied by senior party leaders K.C. Venugopal and Ajay Maken.

"The government hasn't done anything for the last 10 years. Even today, all they care about is another election in Bihar," said Sunita, one of the marchers.

Hurriyat Conference chief Mirwaiz Umar Farooq today delivered an emotional address from Srinagar's historic Jama Masjid, strongly condemning the terror attack, saying it was an "act beyond belief" and "totally unacceptable".

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Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi Friday said the idea behind the Pahalgam terror attack was to divide the people of the country and it was imperative that India stood united to defeat terrorism once and for all.

"It is a terrible tragedy and I came here to get a sense of what is going on and to help. The entire people of Jammu and Kashmir have condemned this terrible act. They have fully supported the nation," Gandhi told reporters in Srinagar.

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In a strong and unified expression of grief and condemnation, members of the Muslim community across India observed a solemn protest during Friday prayers, calling for decisive action against terrorism.

Mosques across cities including Hyderabad, Delhi, Bhopal, Varanasi, and Lucknow witnessed a wave of solidarity as Muslim worshippers wore black armbands as a mark of mourning and resistance against terrorism during the Jumma namaz.

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Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Friday said he has deputed his cabinet ministers to various cities across the country to instil a sense of security among Kashmiri students and businessmen following reports of harassment after the Pahalgam terror attack.

Meanwhile, deputy chief minister Surinder Choudhary said the attack will not affect the annual Amarnath pilgrimage, which passes through the south Kashmir tourist resort.

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Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha has summoned a one-day special session of the assembly on 28 April, Monday, to discuss the Pahalgam attack, officials said.

The Jammu and Kashmir cabinet had on Wednesday, 23 April, decided to advise the LG to convene a special session of the assembly.

The council of ministers met in Srinagar on Wednesday evening under the leadership of chief minister Omar Abdullah.

Representatives from the various political parties in Jammu and Kashmir converged on Hari Niwas as LoP Rahul Gandhi, upon arriving in Srinagar, first stopped to meet survivors of the attack.

Chief minister Omar Abdullah had earlier called an all-party meeting. In Jammu and Kashmir, Gandhi's Congress fought the 2024 assembly elections in alliance with Abdullah's National Conference, now ruling in the state. The two parties are also allies in the INDIA bloc.

Gandhi arrived a couple of hours ago in Srinagar, and also met representatives of the trade and tourism industries as well as the political leadership.

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The Jammu and Kashmir chief minister’s official handle has tweeted an announcement that Omar Abdullah is deputing the union territory’s cabinet minister to visit various cities across India to coordinate with the respective state governments to "ensure the safety and well-being of J&K residents".

This comes in the wake of yesterday’s reports of violence and targeting of Jammu and Kashmir citizens currently living in or visiting various other states such as Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, which the CM also took note of yesterday. He said he was speaking to his counterpart CMs in those states as well.

A state government helpline was set up yesterday for all citizens from Jammu and Kashmir needing support elsewhere in the country as well.

Now, J&K ministers are making personal visits to the states — indicating that the concerns have not abated.

Abdullah's message indicates the CM’s hope that this will instil "a sense of security among our students and businessmen currently in other states".

The chief minister is also expected to meet Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi — his ally in the INDIA bloc (the Congress fought the Jammu and Kashmir elections in alliance with the National Conference too) — today, as the latter has arrived in Kashmir to meet the survivors of the attack and speak in person with the lieutenant governor, Manoj Sinha, as well as Abdullah himself. 

The Indian Youth Congress held tiranga yatras and gatherings in solidarity with the Pahalgam victims in several major cities — New Delhi, Varanasi, Mysore and others.

Last night as well, youth met across the nation — from Amritsar and Chandigarh to Howrah and Manipur — to pay tribute to and mourn those killed in in the Pahalgam terror attacks.

The Congress had earlier announced a nationwide candlelight march initiative in remembrance and solidarity — with Indian, against terror and its supporters — starting today, 25 March, during its emergency CWC meet yesterday.

The country's 18th Army chief said, "I suspect intelligence failure. Somebody must answer for the lapses. There is definitely someone responsible for negligence and they must be held accountable for the consequences."

He also suggested that the nation of Pakistan and its intelligence agency ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) have a role behind the Pahalgam attack.

"There must be complacency somewhere. How did so many infiltrators manage to get through? This needs to be investigated," he added.

Asked whether the Indian government's diplomatic sanctions on Pakistan were an adequate response, Roychowdhury said, "The diplomatic steps taken are not enough. Resistance measures will have to be taken. What shape they take depends on us. Conventional measures would not be enough."

"We will have to react in kind, that is the only way I see it. We must retaliate by maintaining international diplomacy. Enough is enough," Roychowdhury said.

Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal has urged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi to call a special session of Parliament to pass a resolution condemning the Pahalgam terror attack and convey to the world that the country stands united against this threat.

Sibal also suggested that the government send out delegations of ruling and Opposition MPs to various countries to create diplomatic pressure on Pakistan.

With Pakistan having closed down all trade channels with India, including via third nations, Sibal suggested at a press conference in Delhi that India should keep all major nations who have trade with Pakistan out of Indian markets.

Citing a series of terror attacks on India — from the 2001 Parliament attacks to Uri in 2016 and Pulwama in 2019 — he recalled, “In 1972, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had said, 'we will bleed India with a thousand cuts'... this continues."

However, the former union minister added, “A terrorist is a terrorist, is a terrorist, he has no religion.”

"Taking the life of an innocent, be it of any religion, you should not take political advantage of that. I agree with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's statement that if you get together you will be heard," he said.

He also called for a diplomatic initiative to bring the issue up with the United Nations, and see if China will or will not support a resolution on it.

Sibal also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not attending the all-party meeting on Thursday.

"It would have been better if PM could have come to the all-party meeting but he may have felt the Bihar meeting is important. I didn't like it (PM not attending) as an MP," he said.

The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has arrived in Kashmir, a local Congress leader said.

Gandhi is likely to visit the Army's Base Hospital in Badamibagh Cantonment to check on the survivors of the 22 April attack.

He will also meet various delegations, including from trade and tourism groups.

The LoP is also likely to personally meet Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha and chief minister Omar Abdullah.

Gandhi cut short his visit to the United States to attend an emergency meeting of the Congress Working Committee yesterday.

He also attended the all-party meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the evening.

The office of the Mirwaiz-e-Kashmir, Umar Farooq, announced that the mirwaiz is being allowed to lead prayers at the Jamia Masjid in Srinagar after four weeks of “restrictions”.

On the night of the terror attack, he had posted a verse from the Quran, saying ‘Whoever kills an innocent soul…it is as if he had slain mankind entirely’.

Calling for a peaceful protest, he had added, “Hapless people of Kashmir know the pain and grief of such tragedies for those who lost their loved ones today. Such gruesomeness is abhorred in Islam, which is essentially a religion of peace and goodwill, and against all human ethics.”

Air India yesterday announced two additional flights from Srinagar to Delhi (12:20 p.m.) and Mumbai (4:00 p.m.), respectively.

More of yesterday’s events in our live blog here.

International flights westwards — especially those flying out from Delhi and other northern cities — will have to take a longer route to their destinations now Pakistan has closed its airspace to Indian airlines.

Fares on these sectors are also likely to rise by 8–12 per cent as a result.

IndiGo, Air India, Air India Express, SpiceJet and Akasa Air all have international flights that fly out westwards.

More on this here.

Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi has arrived in Kashmir to review the situation.

Officials said the Army commander of Northern Command Lt Gen. M.V. Suchindra Kumar, is accompanying Gen. Dwivedi.

The Chief of the Armed Staff (COAS) is here to carry out a comprehensive review of the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir and is being briefed by top Army commanders about the steps taken in the aftermath of Tuesday's attack.

News reports stated that the house of Lashkar terrorist Asif Sheikh, allegedly linked to the Pahalgam terror attack, was destroyed in Tral following a blast during searches by security forces; suspected explosives are believed to have triggered the powerful detonation.

As US president Donald Trump and secretary of state Mark Rubio have made clear, US stands with India, strongly condemns all acts of terrorism, says Tammy Bruce.

US state department spokesperson Tammy Bruce on Friday, 25 April, shut down a Pakistani journalist sought to question her over border tensions between India and Pakistan during a press briefing. Read more

Following the attack, India has taken strong countermeasures against Pakistan for its support of cross-border terrorism. Read more on Rahul Gandhi's visit to J&K - HERE