LIVE Pahalgam attack: Villagers near LoC get bunkers ready as India-Pakistan tensions persist

Security forces have intensified their crackdown on operatives of the banned Islamic militant outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and suspects linked to the deadly Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives on 22 April. In a series of targeted actions, multiple houses of active terrorists across south Kashmir were demolished overnight as part of the counterterrorism operations, sources said.

The UN security council yesterday strongly condemned the terrorist attack and said those responsible for it should be punished.

Meanwhile, tensions continues to rise on the India-Pakistan border with exchange of fire between the Indian Army and the Pakistan military.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Saturday issued an advisory to all media channels to refrain from showing live coverage of defence operations and movement of security forces.

The tragedy in Pahalgam and the subsequent strain along the Line of Control (LoC) — particularly in vulnerable villages like Salotri — underscore how swiftly life can shift from everyday routine to a state of high-alert survival for residents living in this volatile frontier.

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In an X post, former Union minister and veteran Congressman P. Chidambaram wrote: "'Mr Rohit Singh, former Secretary, Consumer Affairs, GoI writes in ET today that "within hours of Tuesday's Pahalgam terrorist attack" flights from Srinagar to Delhi spiked the fares from the usual Rs 6000-8000 to Rs 65,000.' I hope it is not true. Air India and Indigo must confirm or deny the statement. The Minister of Civil Aviation must confirm or deny the statement.

Similarly, Iltija, daughter of former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, wrote: "Kashmiri cab drivers & auto wallahs are ferrying tourists in the Valley for free. But unfortunately it’s the private airline operators who are fleecing them through exorbitant air fares. Extremely irresponsible & insensitive to exploit a national tragedy. Request @RamMNK @MoCA_GoI @DGCAIndia to intervene."

China's ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong called on Pakistan's deputy prime minister and foreign minister Ishaq Dar today and reaffirmed the all-weather strategic partnership between China and Pakistan, according to media reports in Pakistan. The ambassador exchanged views on the evolving regional situation and agreed to maintain close communication and coordination between the two countries.

"It is necessary to compare the actions and statements of each leader and party in the four days following the Pahalgam terror attack," Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera tweets along with video statement.

There was a face-off between Indian diaspora groups who gathered to protest Pakistan-backed terrorism in the wake of the Pahalgam terrorist attack, and counter-protesters outside the Pakistan High Commission in London, which saw scenes of a Pakistani diplomatic official making threatening gestures.

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Tour operators from Maharashtra have pledged to adopt the family of ponywallah Adil Hussain Shah shot dead by terrorists at Pahalgam, fund their education, and assist them in the years ahead, J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah has said. The gesture speaks volumes about the unity and compassion that still exists among us, he added. Praising the courage of the slain pony operator, he said, “he represents true Kashmiriyat and Kashmiri hospitality… it is our collective duty not just to honour him and support his family, but to keep his memory alive.”

Pakistan today offered to join any “neutral and transparent” probe into the Pahalgam terrorist attack that killed 26 people.

“The recent tragedy in Pahalgam is yet another example of this perpetual blame game, which must come to a grinding halt. Continuing with its role as a responsible country, Pakistan is open to participating in any neutral, transparent and credible investigation,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said while addressing the army-cadets passing-out parade at the Pakistan Military Academy in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's Kakul.

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Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has threatened that blood would flow in rivers if water is stopped, in a sharp response to India's decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) after the Pahalgam terror attack.

"The Indus is ours and will remain ours — either our water will flow through it, or their blood," the former foreign minister was quoted as saying by The News on Friday while addressing a public rally in the Sukkur area of his home Sindh province.

At the all-party meeting in New Delhi on 24 April, Union home minister Amit Shah said seven tunnels have been detected along the border and 35 terrorists have been killed so far in 2025. The MHA’s presentation said in the decade between June 2014 and May 2024, there were 1,643 terrorist-initiated incidents. There were also 1,925 infiltration attempts and 726 successful infiltrations during this time. As many as 576 security personnel and 1,607 terrorists were killed during the same period.

In an editorial under the heading ‘Time for Restraint’, popular Pakistan newspaper Dawn commented, “These are dangerous times in the subcontinent, and there is a need for both Pakistan and India to show restraint, and handle the post-Pahalgam developments with sense…

"Foreign minister Ishaq Dar has rightly asked India to share any evidence it may have of Pakistan’s alleged involvement in the Pahalgam atrocity 'with us and the world'. Unless India does so, the opinion that the Modi government is using this country as a scapegoat for its own security failures will only be strengthened."

As many as 228 Pakistani nationals living in Madhya Pradesh will have to leave India before the April 27 deadline set by the Centre, an official said on Saturday. "As per the data we have with us, there were 228 Pakistani nationals in Madhya Pradesh. Our work is to inform them (the Centre) about such people," a senior state government official said.

Such people have to leave in keeping with the Centre's directive, he said, adding that the data about Pakistani nationals who have left is expected to arrive by evening. According to sources quoted by a PTI report, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has informed chief ministers of all the states to ensure no Pakistani national stays in India beyond the April 27 deadline.

Addressing a candlelight march held in Hyderabad to protest against the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy called for taking back Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. He said, “We urge you to move forward, and we, the 140 crore Indians, will stand with you. Divide Pakistan into two parts and merge PoK with India, we are all with you. This is not the time to do politics.

The house of Shahid Ahmad Kuttay, a top LeT commander from Chotipora in Shopian, was reduced to rubble by authorities - Click HERE to read full report.

One more person was apprehended in Assam for his alleged pro-Pakistan stand in the wake of the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, taking the total number of such arrests in the state to nine, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in a post X, on Saturday.

“I am very close to India and I'm very close to Pakistan, as you know. And they've had that fight for 1,000 years in Kashmir. Kashmir has been going on for 1,000 years, probably longer than that. And it was a bad one yesterday, though, that was a bad one. Over 30 people,” US President Donald Trump said during a press gaggle with reporters aboard Air Force One on the way to Rome.

There have been “tensions on that border for 1,500 years. So you know, the same as it's been, but they'll get it figured out one way or the other. I'm sure... I know both leaders. There is great tension between Pakistan and India. But there always has been", Trump said.

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The DGCA has issued an advisory to airlines on passenger handling measures due to Pakistani airspace curbs resulting in extended flight durations for Indian carriers like Indigo and Air India.

Following a 48-hour deadline issued by the Centre in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, 191 Pakistani nationals who were visiting India returned home on Friday, April 25, through the Attari-Wagah border in Amritsar, Punjab, according to officials.