Pahalgam LIVE: Farooq Abdullah calls Pakistan a “failed state” but deplores deportations

Following the deadly April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that claimed 26 civilian lives, US secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Indian foreign minister S. Jaishankar and Pakistan prime minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Rubio reaffirmed America’s support for India in combating terrorism, urged both nations to avoid escalating tensions, and called for accountability for those behind the attack.

Meanwhile, Iran has offered to mediate between the two neighbours.

In the week since the Pahalgam terror attack, the Government of India has downgraded diplomatic ties with Pakistan, pulled out of the Indus Waters Treaty, exchanged fire with our neighbour along the LoC, brought the matter up at the United Nations and stopped all trade (even via third-party nations) with Pakistan.

Pakistan, which India accuses of harbouring terrorists and fomenting terrorism has, for its part, said it will treat any attempt to hold back water from the Indus river system as an Act of War and closed its airspace to us — affecting commercial flights more than military operations.

More in our earlier live blog here.

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh always acted on the principle of 'Nation First' in his long political career and did not visit Pakistan during his prime ministerial tenure as he felt it was not right, senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot said.

Pilot said the list of those who went to Pakistan is long and includes the likes of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, former deputy PM L.K. Advani and current PM Narendra Modi, but does not include Singh or former Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Pilot said a lot of credit for India emerging as a nuclear power goes to Singh because he took a political stand and risked his government for the nuclear agreement with the US, because he thought it was best for the country.

"Rajiv (Shukla)-ji said he (Manmohan Singh) if could not go to Pakistan, visit his village, who was stopping him? Many times invitation would have come, but he did not go because he felt that it was not right to go," Pilot, who served as a minister in Singh's UPA-II government, said.

"Who all went to Pakistan? I don't want to go into that in detail, as it is a long list. Advani-ji went, Vajpayee-ji went, Modi-ji went, but Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh are not there on that list. It is easy to say 'Nation First' but very difficult to act upon, and Dr Singh did in his long political career," Pilot said.

Pilot recalled Singh's remarks on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and asked which PM had courage to say 'I hang my head in shame' and that this should not have happened.

In his remarks, Shukla said Singh took action against Pakistan in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks, but did not propagate it.

Pankaj Pachauri, once Singh's media advisor, said he never used to bring religion into the work of the country.

Terming it a "failed state", the National Conference chief suggested that its people wanted friendship with Indians, but that could not happen with the army in charge.

Acknowledging that the two countries are now preparing to face each other on the battlefield, which is especially dangerous given both are nuclear powers, he added, "Efforts are being made across the globe that this should not happen and some way is found to nab those behind the attack as well as their masterminds. How much the world will succeed in stopping this, only God knows."

He also deplored the deportation of Pakistani nationals who had long lived in India and had part-Indian families, saying "On humanitarian grounds, this action is not good and is against humanity. They have been living here for 70 years or 25 years or 5 years... their children were here, studying here. They have not hurt India. In fact, they have accepted India. So, this will not have good consequences."

More here

At an event in Karnataka, Mallikarjun Kharge flayed union minister Piyush Goyal for his statement that Pahalgam-like incidents would continue to disturb the nation until 140 crore Indians regard patriotism as their paramount ‘dharma’.

“A union minister says 140 crore people of the country lack patriotism; if they had patriotism, no one would have troubled us,” the Congress president and Rajya Sabha LoP noted.

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Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi Bareilvi, the national president of the All India Muslim Jamaat, has appealed to Indian Muslims to hold special prayers after Friday namaz to uphold India's unity and defeat its enemies.

"I urge all Indian Muslims, especially the imams of mosques, to organise a special dua after Friday prayers for the country's unity and integrity, and to pray for the defeat of its enemies," Maulana Razvi said in a statement.

"Let this Friday be observed as Youm-e-Dua (Day of Prayer). Through their sermons, imams must make people aware of the threat of terrorism and emphasise the need to stay united in this testing time," he added.

Maulana Razvi warned against falling for attempts to create rifts between communities, saying, "People must not get misled by those who try to sow discord between Hindus and Muslims. We are together, and we must stand together."

"We don't want people going against Muslims or Kashmiris. We want peace and only peace. Of course, we want justice," said Himanshi, widow of late Navy officer Lieutenant Vinay Narwal to reporters today in Karnal, Haryana

Pakistan has announced the closure of specific portions of Karachi and Lahore Flight Information Regions for a limited time each day during May, citing security concerns, a media report says.

The announcement by the aviation authorities comes amid heightened tension between Pakistan and India since the Pahalgam terror attack and Islamabad’s apprehensions of retaliatory action by New Delhi.

“The restricted airspace will be closed daily from 4:00 a.m. to 8:00 a..m local time between 1 May and 31 May,” the Express Tribune said, quoting an official notice.

Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said the closure will not significantly disrupt commercial flight operations, as aircraft will be rerouted via alternative flight paths during the restricted hours, per the report.

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to accord martyr status to those slain in Pahalgam.

In a post on X, the Congress leader said, "I stand with the families of those killed in the Pahalgam attack in their grief and in their demand for martyr status to them.

"The prime minister is requested to respect the sentiments of the families of those who lost their lives in this tragedy by giving this honour to them," Gandhi said in his post in Hindi.

The Congress MP from Rae Bareli met the family members of a victim in Kanpur on Wednesday, 30 April.

"I met a victim's family in Kanpur. They asked me to send a message to Narendra Modi. On behalf of all those families, I want to tell the prime minister: 'Prime Minister, they have said that "our children have been martyred". We want you to give them the status of a martyr and give them respect'," he told reporters.

Gandhi visited the family members of Shubham Dwivedi in Kanpur and reiterated the opposition's demand for a special session of Parliament on Pahalgam.

A blood donation camp was held in Haryana’s Karnal on what should have been the 27th birthday celebration of slain Indian Navy officer Lieutenant Vinay Narwal, who was among the 26 killed in the Pahalgam terror attack.

Narwal's mother and his wife Himanshi broke down in tears as tributes were paid to the Naval officer.

The camp was organised by a Karnal-based NGO, the National Integrated Forum of Artists and Activists. Various speakers recalled the ways the late officer served his nation with dedication and assured his family and friends that his memory would continue to in the hearts of India's citizens forever.

One of the speakers, noted that while terrorists shed the blood of innocent people in Pahalgam, the blood voluntarily offered through this donation camp will save many lives — a parallel to the oath of the armed forces to defend the nation with their very life's blood.

Elsewhere too, several blood donation camps were organised by hospitals and civil society organisations over the last few days in reaction to the Pahalgam terror attack, to reaffirm values of saving lives and solidarity in the travails of fellow citizens. Among these venues were Awantipora, near Pulwama, and one organised Maqbool Memorial Hospital under the aegis of GMC Baramulla.

Following a week-long heavy rush of people from both sides crossing over after the Union government ordered all Pakistani citizens with short-term visa to leave India, the Attari–Wagah border crossing point between the two countries has now been shut completely.

A total of 125 Pakistani nationals left India on Wednesday through the Attari-Wagah border, taking the total number of Pakistanis leaving the country to 911 in the last seven days.

Fifteen Indian citizens with Pakistani visa also crossed over to Pakistan on Wednesday, taking the total number of such people exiting India to 23.

Similarly, 152 Indian nationals and 73 Pakistani nationals with long-term Indian visa have entered India through the international border crossing point in Punjab's Amritsar district, taking the total number of such people to 1,617 and 224, respectively.

External affairs minister S. Jaishankar has spoken to his South Korean counterpart Cho Tae-yul and is understood to have conveyed India’s policy of “zero tolerance” towards terrorists.

The external affairs minister has already spoken to his counterparts in eight other non-permanent member nations of the UN Security Council.

Jaishankar’s phone conversations with foreign ministers of the non-permanent member nations of the UN Security Council assume particular significance given that Pakistan is also a member of the influential UN body for the 2025-26 period.

“Spoke with @FMChoTaeyul of South Korea this morning. Thanked him for RoK’s support and solidarity in light of the Pahalgam terror attack. Underlined the need to combat terrorism in all forms and manifestations,” the external affairs minister said on ‘X’.

A case of negligence has seen three police officers suspended in Mangaluru over the case of a mob lynching of a Muslim man who allegedly shouted the 'Pakistan zindabad' slogan at a cricket match locally.

The police officers in question had reportedly first only registered the case as a 'suspicious death' — but did not open a murder investigation into the 'unnatural death' until a controversy erupted around the incident.

The man was allegedly lynched by a crowd of 30 people, of whom 20 have been arrested.

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CPI-M general secretary MA Baby is the latest among opposition leaders to demand a special session of Parliament to discuss the Pahalgam terror attack and its aftermath.

"There was a meeting of political parties, but the prime minister chose to go to Bihar to give a public speech rather than presiding over this political party meeting. So, I don't know what is the priority of the honourable prime minister of our country, ” he added.

Instagram accounts of popular Pakistani actors Mahira Khan, Hania Aamir, Sanam Saeed and Ali Zafar have also been blocked in India following a "legal request" in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack.

"Account not available in India. This is because we complied with a legal request to restrict this content" is the message being displayed when users in India try to access their pages.

The Instagram accounts of Pakistani actors Bilal Abbas, lqra Aziz, Ayeza Khan, Imran Abbas and Sajal Aly have also been blocked.

The release of Abir Gulaal, a film starring Pakistani star Fawad Khan, may be in limbo — but Khan's Instagram account is still accessible in India.

Also active: Instagram accounts of singers Atif Aslam, Farhan Saeed, Ali Sethi, Shafqat Amanat Ali; actors Mawra Hocane, best known for her Bollywood debut in 2016's Sanam Teri Kasam, Saba Qamar (Hindi Medium), Adnan Siddiqui (Mom), Hamza Ali Abbasi, Veena Malik of Bigg Boss fame and Churails stars Sarwat Gilani, Mehar Bano, Nimra Bucha and Yasra Rizvi.

Enjoying art and cricket are not possible when those involved try "to disturb our peace and kills innocent people", says actor Suniel Shetty, who recently spoke up for continuing tourism in Kashmir in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack.

"Everything should be banned with anybody who tries to disturb our peace and kills innocent people. Anything and everything should be banned. Cricket, movies, everything. First correct what has been done wrong and then everything will be right again... We come from a place where we say dharma, karma and seva," Shetty told PTI.

Shetty is currently promoting his latest movie Kesariya Veer, due for release on 16 May.

On the other hand, the movie Abir Gulaal, featuring Pakistani actor Fawad Khan that was slated for release on 9 May, will be put on pause, claim government sources.

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to entertain a petition seeking a judicial inquiry into the Pahalgam terror attack, stating that such matters fall outside the expertise of judges. In this crucial time, each and every citizen of country joined hands to fight terror, the top court said. The plea was subsequently withdrawn.

A joint operation by the BSF and Punjab Police near Bharopal village in Amritsar thwarted a suspected terror plot, leading to the recovery of a large cache of arms, including three pistols, six magazines, 50 live rounds, and two hand grenades, the Times of India said.

India has banned several Pakistani drama channels on YouTube. While the channels display a government ban notice, some users, including those on Jio networks, can still access the content, a report by the news website Siasat said.

Deputy chief minister of Maharashtra Ajit Pawar has expressed sorrow over the Pahalgam terror attack, calling it a heartbreaking tragedy. He has now shared confirmation that 6 of the 26 victims were from the state, and assured full government support to their families.

NIA director general Sadanand Date has reached Pahalgam, as the agency formally launches its investigation into the recent terror attack that left 26 civilians dead. His arrival marks the beginning of a high-level probe into the incident.

Pakistan's Olympic gold-winning javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem's Instagram account has been blocked in India owing to a "legal request" in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack.

Users attempting to access Nadeem's Instagram page from India are met with the message: "Account not available in India. This is because we complied with a legal request to restrict this content."

Earlier this week, several Pakistani YouTube channels were also restricted in India for "disseminating provocative and communally sensitive content, false and misleading narratives and misinformation against India, its Army and security agencies".

To read a detailed report about Arshad Nadeem, click here.

SP MP Afzal Ansari condemned the targeting of Muslims and Kashmiri students in several parts of the country following the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, alleging that those "government-backed" people spreading hatred share the same mindset as terrorists.

India’s move to shut its airspace to Pakistani airlines following the Pahalgam terror attack will heavily disrupt Pakistan International Airlines' operations, especially on northern routes from New Delhi, says Air Marshal (Retd) Sanjeev Kapoor. In a video post, he said the restrictions are expected to increase flight durations and operational costs for PIA.

A 69-year-old Pakistani national, who was to be sent back to his nation, died of cardiac arrest on Wednesday, 30 April, officials say.

Abdul Waheed was brought from Srinagar by the Jammu and Kashmir Police for his repatriation to Pakistan. He had been living in India for the last 17 years and was found with an expired visa by the police, they said.

Pakistan has named Lt Gen Muhammad Asim Malik, current ISI chief, as the country’s new National Security Adviser. The appointment was confirmed through a Cabinet Division notification issued on Tuesday, 29 April.

Amid rising India-Pakistan tensions, cyberattacks traced to Pakistan targeted four defence-related institutions, including Army Public Schools in Srinagar and Ranikhet. While some sites were briefly defaced and hit with denial-of-service attacks, prompt action by web administrators contained the damage, media reports quoted army officials as saying.

Amid growing tensions between India and Pakistan, Qatar has expressed concern over the situation and urged both nations to exercise restraint and avoid further escalation.

At the 4th Joint Working Group meeting on counter-terrorism held in Cairo on Wednesday, 30 April, India and Egypt agreed to enhance collaboration against terrorism in all its forms. Both nations strongly condemned the recent attack on tourists in Pahalgam, with Egypt reaffirming its full support for India in tackling violence.

According to NOTAM, during this restriction no Pakistani aircraft will be permitted to enter Indian airspace

For a more detailed report click here.

Following the deadly 22 April terror attack in Pahalgam that claimed 26 civilian lives, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Rubio reaffirmed America’s support for India in combating terrorism, urged both nations to avoid escalating tensions, and called for accountability for those behind the attack. Meanwhile, Iran has offered to mediate between the two neighbours.