Pahalgam aftermath: NSC meeting to deliberate response to India’s knee-jerk measures concludes
Pakistan’s National Security Committee (NSC) — the top security body — met for over two hours on Thursday to assess and formulate a response to India’s slew of aggressive measures against the country in the wake of an attack in India-held Kashmir that claimed over two dozen live
A day ago, India shut borders, downgraded diplomatic ties and, in an unprecedented move, unilaterally announced the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) over what the BJP government and media claimed — without offering any evidence — was Islamabad’s alleged support for cross-border terrorism.
Today, Indian and international media, quoting India-held Kashmir’s Anantnag Police, reported that two of the suspected attackers were Pakistani and belonged to the banned Lashkar-i-Taiba (LeT).
Pakistan has denied any role in the attack and offered condolences for the loss of lives.
On Thursday morning, Indian media reported that the Modi-led regime had blocked the Pakistani government’s X account in the country and summoned the Pakistani charge d’affaires in New Delhi.
Among the Indian measures it announced, the IWT’s suspension stood out as the most severe. The 1960 pact, brokered by the World Bank, has endured through wars and decades of hostility. Its suspension, therefore, marked a watershed moment in the already fraught relationship between the nuclear-armed neighbours.
India further downgraded diplomatic ties by closing down the main border transit point, framing the attack as a grave provocation that warranted significant diplomatic, economic, and logistical pressure on Pakistan.
The attack took place in Pahalgam, a tourist hotspot in India-occupied Kashmir that draws thousands of visitors every summer. Gunmen opened fire on visitors, killing at least 26 people — all men from across India except one from Nepal — and injuring 17 others. It was the region’s deadliest attack on civilians since 2000.
A hitherto unknown group, named by several Indian outlets as ‘The Resistance Front’, is said to have claimed responsibility for the attack.
“Meeting of the National Security Committee starts,” a statement from the information ministry said shortly after 12:30pm.
A statement from the PM Office said that “important decisions were expected in the context of India’s unilateral and irresponsible actions as a result of the current situation” in occupied Kashmir.
The NSC meeting was set to “discuss in detail India’s irresponsible actions after Pahalgam false flag operation”, Radio Pakistan said in a report.
It will review the response to “India’s hastily taken, impulsive and impractical water measures”, the report said, referring to the IWT.
A picture released by the PMO showed Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir present in the meeting.
Ahead of the meeting, Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, and some other ministers had reached the PM House in Islamabad, a Dawn.com correspondent said.
On the other hand, India has summoned Saad Ahmad Warraich, the top Pakistani diplomat in New Delhi, the Hindustan Times reported on Thursday, citing sources.
Amid rising tensions, India has withheld access to the official X account of the Government of Pakistan, NDTV reported.
India’s PM Narendra Modi has also called for a multi-party meeting with opposition parties to brief them on the government’s response to the attack.
This screengrab taken by an X user in India on April 24, 2025 shows an error upon attempting to access the Pakistani government’s official account. — shared with Dawn.com
Deputy PM Dar, appearing on Dunya TV late last night, had lashed out at India’s approach, calling it “immature” and “hasty”.
“India has not given any evidence. They have not shown any maturity in their response,” Dar said. “This is a non-serious approach. They started creating hype immediately after the incident.”
Diplomatic observers warn that the Indian response and Pakistan’s counter-messaging could push bilateral relations to new lows, further widening a rift that has persisted since the 2019 Pulwama-Balakot crisis. The treaty suspension, in particular, risks sparking long-term water disputes, while the downgrading of diplomatic ties could hinder any future de-escalation efforts.
Analyst Michael Kugelman said the attack posed a “very serious risk of a new crisis between India and Pakistan, and probably the most serious risk of a crisis since the brief military conflict that happened in 2019”.
Kugelman called India’s actions “highly consequential retaliations”, highlighting that “in 2019, India threatened to suspend IWT but didn’t follow through”.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office had yesterday expressed concern and condolences over the loss of tourists’ lives. The Indian government had vowed that a “loud and clear” response would be delivered to the attack.
Tuesday’s attack is seen as a setback to what Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party have projected as a major achievement in revoking the special status occupied Jammu and Kashmir enjoyed and bringing peace and development to the long-troubled Muslim-majority region.
Ministers criticise ‘water warfare’ by India
Power Minister Sardar Awais Leghari said suspending the water treaty “in haste and without regard for its consequences amounts to water warfare”.
In a statement issued by the Ministry of Power Division, the minister said: “India’s reckless suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty is an act of water warfare; a cowardly, illegal move. Every drop is ours by right and we will defend it with full force — legally, politically and globally”.
Federal Minister for Water Resources Mian Moeen Wattoo said India could not take a unilateral decision on the IWT because it had the endorsement of international organisations.
Wattoo asserted that Pakistan would not succumb to “external pressure and any aggression from the Indian side would be responded to in a befitting manner”, according to a statement carried by the Associated Press of Pakistan.
Former railways minister Khawaja Saad Rafique noted that India took the measures “without proof or evidence”, terming the move “sad and unwise”.
“The Indus Water Treaty is not just an agreement between Pakistan and India, it was arbitrated by the World Bank and it has international guarantees,” he said in a televised statement.
He added: “It would have been better if they (India) had any evidence, they should have brought it forward or taken it to an international forum, but levelling allegations like this does not suit any government.”
Rafique highlighted that either of the two sides cannot unilaterally suspend the pact. “For a long time, Indian leaders were trying to break free from the treaty but this could not be possible,” he said.
“By disrupting the treaty, India has fanned the flames of tensions in the region,” the former minister noted.
Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US, also highlighted that the move was not in accordance with the treaty.
“This is always the stance India takes whenever such incidents happen. Without any investigation or evidence, they single out Pakistan as the culprit,” she told Geo News.
She stressed that the defence minister had clarified that Pakistan had “nothing to do with the attack”.
“Indian media is calling for revenge and military action, which in my opinion will be extremely dangerous,” she warned.
Modi vows to pursue attackers to ‘ends of the Earth’
Meanwhile, in India, Modi vowed to punish all those responsible.
“I say to the whole world: India will identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backer,” he said today in his first speech since Tuesday’s attack in the Himalayan region.
“We will pursue them to the ends of the Earth”, he added, without naming any entity.
Modi, who was speaking in Bihar state to launch development projects, first led two minutes of silence in memory of those killed.
“I say this unequivocally: whoever has carried out this attack, and the ones who devised it, will be made to pay beyond their imagination”, he said, speaking in Hindi in front of a large crowd.
“They will certainly pay. Whatever little land these terrorists have, it’s time to reduce it to dust. The willpower of 1.4 billion Indians will break the backbone of these terrorists.”
“Terrorism will not go unpunished,” Modi said. “Every effort will be made to ensure that justice is done.”
He finished his speech with rare comments in English, directing them to an audience abroad.
Protests in Pakistan, India
In a related development, supporters of the political party Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML) took to the streets in Islamabad and Lahore in protest against India’s suspension of the IWT.
Placards said India’s suspension of the treaty was “cruelty and crime”. Other banners described it as a “declaration of war”.
Separately, dozens of protesters gathered outside the Pakistan embassy in New Delhi’s diplomatic enclave today, shouting slogans and pushing against police barricades.
Aggressive measures by India
The announcement of punitive measures came after Tuesday’s meeting of India’s Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by PM Narendra Modi.
Among the measures, the CCS said the Attari border check post was closed; Pakistanis in India under the Saarc Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) had 48 hours to leave the country, while others could return by May 1; defence personnel at the Pakistani High Commission in India had a week to leave the country and staff at the high commissions would be reduced as well.
“The CCS was briefed in detail on the terrorist attack on 22 April 2025 in Pahalgam, in which 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen were killed. A number of others sustained injuries. The CCS condemned the attack in the strongest terms and expressed its deepest condolences to the families of the victims and hoped for the early recovery of the injured,” Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri told a press conference after the CCS meeting.
The statement said: “Recognising the seriousness of this terrorist attack, the CCS decided upon the following measures,” detailing how the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 will be held in abeyance “with immediate effect, until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism”.
“The Integrated Check Post Attari will be closed with immediate effect. Those who have crossed over with valid endorsements may return through that route before May 1, 2025,” it said.
Additionally, Pakistani nationals will not be permitted to travel to India under the Saarc visa scheme. “Any SVES visas issued in the past to Pakistani nationals are deemed cancelled. Any Pakistani national currently in India under SVES visa has 48 hours to leave India.”
Furthermore, defence attaches and advisers at the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi had been declared ‘Persona Non Grata’ and given a week to leave India.
“India will be withdrawing its own Defence/Navy/Air Advisers from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad… The overall strength of the High Commissions will be brought down to 30 from the present 55 through further reductions,” Misri said.
The statement also said that security forces had been put on high alert. “As with the recent extradition of Tahawwur Rana, India will be unrelenting in the pursuit of those who have committed acts of terror, or conspired to make them possible,” the foreign ministry statement said, referring to a suspect in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Kashmiri students report harassment, attacks
In the wake of a search operation launched by India yesterday, students from occupied Kashmir have reported harassment and intimidation in other cities, AFP quoted a student association as saying.
Kashmiri students in states including Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh were allegedly asked to leave their rented apartments or university hostels yesterday, Jammu and Kashmir Students Association convenor Nasir Khuehami said.
At a university in Himachal Pradesh, students were harassed and physically attacked after hostel doors were broken, Khuehami said.
The students were allegedly called “terrorists”, he added.
“This is not just a security issue”, he said. “It is a deliberate and targeted campaign of hate and vilification against students from a particular region and identity”.
In Uttarakhand’s capital Dehradun, around 20 students fled to the airport yesterday following warnings from Hindu Raksha Dal, a fringe right-wing group.
The students said that the group threatened Kashmiri Muslim students with dire consequences if they did not leave town at the earliest.
‘Loud and clear’ response
A day ago, India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh vowed a swift response to those who carried out and planned the Pahalgam attack.
“Those responsible and behind such an act will very soon hear our response, loud and clear,” Singh said in a speech in New Delhi, a day after the attack.
“We won’t just reach those people who carried out the attack. We will also reach out to those who planned this from behind the scenes on our land.” Singh did not identify those he believes are responsible for the killings, but said that “India’s government will take every step that may be necessary and appropriate”.
A hospital list verified by police recorded 26 men who were killed on Tuesday afternoon, when gunmen burst out of forests at a popular tourist spot in Pahalgam, and raked crowds of visitors with automatic weapons. All those killed were listed as residents of India, except one man from Nepal.
Separately, an encounter was reportedly underway between Indian security forces and suspected militants in the Tangmarg area abutting Pahalgam, at the time of going to press.
In a separate incident in Baramulla on Wednesday, the army killed two people after a “heavy exchange of fire”, saying the gunmen were part of an “infiltration bid”, AFP reported.
DAWN NEWS
. Posters here who are WAR EXPERTS by playing Red Alert 2 on dial-up modem will lose their marbles 
