Pahalgam terror attack LIVE: Houses razed,

Authorities in Kashmir have launched a massive crackdown on terrorists and their sympathisers in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, razing homes of the ultras, raiding their safe havens and detaining hundreds of overground workers for questioning, officials said on Saturday (April 26, 2025).

Also read | Pahalgam terror attack: The meadow cries out in fear and grief

The Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) issued an advisory asking all media channels to refrain from live coverage of defence operations, and the movement of security forces.

Also Read | I&B Ministry advises media to refrain from live coverage of defence operations

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday (April 26, 2025) said he was ready for a “neutral” investigation into a deadly attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam that left 26 dead, with India linking Pakistan of supporting “cross-border terrorism”. Islamabad denies involvement in the April 22 attack targeting tourists, where terrorists opened fire in the popular Baisaran meadow in Kashmir’s Pahalgam.

Also read | Will ensure not even a drop of water from Indus goes to Pakistan, Jal Shakti Minister says

A day after officials from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) informed an all-party meeting that police permission was not sought for opening the Baisaran meadow where 26 people were killed by terrorists on April 22, a senior J&K Government official told The Hindu that police authorisation has never been sought for the tourist spot, which is open throughout the year barring snowy months

Deadly Kashmir attack risks India military escalation against Pakistan

Tuesday's bloodshed in Pahalgam - where at least 26 tourists were killed in a hail of gunfire - marks the deadliest militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir since 2019.

The victims weren't soldiers or officials, but civilians on holiday in one of India's most picturesque valleys. That alone makes this strike both brutal and symbolic: a calculated assault not just on lives, but on a fragile sense of normalcy the Indian state has worked hard to project in the disputed region.

Given the fraught history of Kashmir - claimed in full by both India and Pakistan but ruled by each only in part - India's response is likely to be shaped as much by precedent as by pressure, say experts.

For starters, Delhi has swiftly taken a series of retaliatory steps: closing the main border crossing, suspending a critical water-sharing treaty, and expelling diplomats.

More significantly, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has vowed a "strong response," pledging action not just against the perpetrators but also the masterminds behind the "nefarious acts" on Indian soil.

The question, analysts say, is not whether there will be a military response - but when, and how calibrated it will be, and at what cost.

"We are likely to see a strong response – one that signals resolve to both domestic audiences and actors in Pakistan. Since 2016 and especially after 2019, the threshold for retaliation has been set at cross-border or air strikes," military historian Srinath Raghavan told the BBC.

"It'll be hard for the government to act below that now. Pakistan will likely respond, as it did before. The risk, as always, is miscalculation – on both sides."

Mr Raghavan is alluding to two previous major retaliations by India in 2016 and 2019.

After the deadly Uri attack in September 2016, where 19 Indian soldiers were killed, India launched what it called "surgical strikes" across the de facto border - also known as the Line of Control (LoC) - targeting what it said were militant launch pads in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

And in 2019, after at least 40 paramilitary personnel were killed in Pulwama, India hit an alleged militant camp in Balakot with airstrikes - its first such strike deep inside Pakistan since 1971. Pakistan responded with air raids, leading to a dogfight and the brief capture of an Indian pilot. Both sides showed strength but avoided full-scale war.

Two years later, in 2021, they agreed to an LoC ceasefire, which has largely held - despite recurring militant attacks in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Michael Kugelman, a foreign policy analyst, believes that the combination of high fatality levels and the targeting of Indian civilians in the latest attack "suggests a strong possibility of an Indian military response against Pakistan, if Delhi determines or merely assumes any level of Pakistani complicity".

Pahalgam terror attack live: Pak nationals who overstay to face action, says Maharashtra CM Fadnavis

Pahalgam attack live updates: Pakistan's prime minister Shehbaz Sharif stated that the country is “ready to defend their sovereignty” and called for a neutral investigation into the Pahalgam attack amid tense relations with India.Write your text here...

Pahalgam terror attack live updates: As tensions flare between India and Pakistan, in the aftermath of the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, protests have erupted outside Pakistani embassies in Nepal, the United Kingdom and Australia. After 26 civilians were killed during the attack in Pahalgam, India revoked all categories of visas issued to Pakistani citizens, except long-term visas, diplomatic and official visas, with immediate effect from April 27.

At the same time, citing sustained cross-border terrorism from Pakistan, they also temporarily suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, a water and intelligence-sharing agreement between the countries.

Pakistan has also responded by closing their airspace to any Indian airlines and suspending all trade. The country's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday said that his armed forces are “prepared to defend the country's sovereignty” amid growing backlash over a deadly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam.

Key Updates

• On April 22, terrorists attacked on tourists in Baisaran meadow near Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, killing 26 men, mostly vacationers

• Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif has said that Islamabad is ready for a 'neutral investigation' into the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam.

• Amidst the tense relations, Iran and Saudi Arabia have both offered to broker an understanding between the countries and restore relations.

• In the aftermath of the terror attack on Pahalgam, Anantnag police, in close collaboration with the Army, CRPF and other security forces, have launched extensive search and cordon operations across the district.

• The Indian army said Saturday that soldiers from multiple Pakistani army posts overnight opened fire at Indian troops “all across the Line of Control” in Kashmir. “Indian troops responded appropriately with small arms,” the statement said. There were no casualties reported, the statement added.Write your text here...