Pahalgam terror attack update: Pakistani troops violate ceasefire for 8th night, residents near LoC begin readying bunkers

The Supreme Court on Friday asked authorities to not take coercive action such as deportation to Pakistan against six members of a family, who allegedly overstayed their visa, till an order on verification of their identity documents.

The family members are residents of Kashmir and their son works in Bengaluru. They are facing deportation to Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack update in which 26 people lost their lives.

Observing that the issue involves a human angle, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh gave the family the liberty to approach the Jammu and Kashmir high court in case they are aggrieved by the document verification order.

The top court was hearing a plea by Ahmed Tarek Butt and his five family members who claimed they were detained and taken to the Wagah border for deportation to Pakistan despite having valid Indian documents.

The bench noted that following the Pahalgam attack, the Centre in a notification dated April 25 has revoked the visa of Pakistani nationals except for those provided in the order itself and gave a specific timeline for their deportation.

-PTI

Pakistan-administered Kashmir called on residents near the de facto border with the Indian side of the region to stockpile food on Friday as tensions flare between the arch-rivals following a deadly attack last month.

“Instructions have been issued to stock food supplies for two months in the 13 constituencies along the Line of Control (LoC),” the prime minister of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, Chaudhry Anwar ul Haq, told the local assembly on Friday.

The regional government has also created an emergency fund of one billion rupees ($3.5 million) to ensure the supply of “food, medicines and all other basic necessities” to the 13 constituencies, he said.

Government and privately owned machinery was also being deployed to maintain roads in the areas along the LoC, he said.

-AFP

Navi Mumbai resident Subodh Patil, who was injured in the Pahalgam terror attack update and was subsequently treated in Kashmir, has returned home to a hearty welcome by neighbours and locals.

Patil (60) reached his home at Royal Heights Apartments in the Kamothe area along with his wife on Thursday night, said an official.

The couple was welcomed by their neighbours, relatives and locals in the area, he said.

Patil and his wife were part of a group of 39 tourists who had made a trip to Pahalgam arranged by Nisarg Paryatan Tours, the police official said.

He sustained a bullet injury to his neck when terrorists fired indiscriminately at tourists in the Baisaran meadow near Pahalgam in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district on April 22. Patil was at a tea stall at the time.

-PTI

BJP MP Jagannath Sarkar on Friday alleged that Pakistan is sending infiltrators to India so that they can commit crimes and blasts in India.

Sarkar said that Pakistan does not want to take them back and added that their intentions will not work in India.

“Pakistan deliberately sent infiltrators to harm India. Their intentions are not being fulfilled so they (Pakistan) are not ready to take them back. Pakistan is planning to send them here and commit crimes and explosions but this will not work in India”, Jagannath Sarkar told ANI.

-ANI

Amid calls for action against Pakistan over the deadly Pahalgam terror attack update , which has devastated the country, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Dilip Ghosh on Friday said that the neighbouring country was already “half empty”.

“Although the attack has not occurred, Pakistan is already half empty. The Army chief there sent his children and wife abroad. Pakistan’s Foreign Minister has fled with his family,” Ghosh told reporters here.

He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah don’t just talk but walk the talk, as they have done by previously attacking Pakistan.

“What the BJP has done is historical. In the last 75 years, who has been able to answer (to Pakistan)? Who has ended terrorism in the country? Modi government. Pakistan will vanish. Be it our Prime Minister or Union Home Minister, they don’t just talk. They walk the talk. After Sardar Patel, people had forgotten that the country had a home minister. It was after Amit Shah was appointed as the Home Minister that people noticed it,” Ghosh said.

-ANI

Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has criticised India’s decision to revoke visas of Pakistani citizens, citing “humanitarian challenges” for medical treatment seekers and divided families.

While responding to media queries about the availability of the Wagha border crossing for Pakistani citizens returning from India, the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Shafqat Ali Khan stated, “The Indian decision to revoke visas of Pakistani citizens is creating serious humanitarian challenges. Many patients, with fragile health, had to return to Pakistan without completing their treatment. Furthermore, there are reports of families being split and children being separated from one of their parents.”

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The UN Security Council could meet “sooner rather than later” to discuss the situation between India and Pakistan, and this would be an opportunity to express views and to help diffuse tensions, UNSC President said, voicing concern over rising tensions between the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours.

“Of course, if a request comes for a meeting, then…I think this meeting should take place because, as we said, maybe it’s also an opportunity to have views expressed and this might help to diffuse a bit tensions. We will see,” Permanent Representative of Greece to the United Nations and President of the Security Council for the month of May, Ambassador Evangelos Sekeris said in response to a question by PTI.

“We are in close contact … but this is something which might happen, I would say, sooner rather than later. We will see, we are preparing. It’s the first day of our (UNSC) presidency.” Sekeris briefed UN reporters here Thursday on the Council’s work programme under Greece’s month-long presidency of the 15-nation UN body. He was asked about rising tensions between India and Pakistan and if he had received any request for a meeting or consultations on the issue in the Council.

-PTI

Lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar urged the central government to take strict action against Pakistan for their alleged connections to the recent inhumane terror attack on innocent civilians in Pahalgam, Kashmir.

Javed Akhtar was invited to inaugurate the ‘Glorious Maharashtra Festival’, which was organised to commemorate Maharashtra’s foundation day on Thursday.

While addressing the politicians and other attendees at the Maharashtra Festival 2025, the Lyricist Javed Akhtar requested the Central Government to take “solid steps” against terrorism, as he believes that “a few crackers on the border” are still not enough for the lives lost in Pahalgam.

-ANI

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey on Friday made shocking claims regarding Pakistan, suggesting that nearly 10,000 people have been killed and disappeared. He said that the Pakistan Army had ordered the terrorist Hafiz Saeed and fugitive Dawood Ibrahim to “eliminate the Baluchis”.

“The army has ordered the bloodthirsty Hafiz Saeed and Dawood Ibrahim to eliminate the Baluchis and protesters from India. In the last 15 days, about 10 thousand people have been killed and disappeared. Pakistan is in pieces,” Dubey made these claims in a post on X.

-ANI

The Congress’ highest decision-making body CWC will on Friday evening deliberate on the situation arising out of the Pahalgam terror attack update and the caste census announced by the Centre.

Party general secretary Jairam Ramesh told reporters on Thursday that the entire Congress Working Committee (CWC) would sit and discuss the two crucial issues before the country.

Sources said the CWC is likely to pass resolutions seeking concrete action against Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack and for allocating funds to get the caste census conducted soon as part of the national census exercise.

It is also likely to demand that there should be a constitutional amendment and the 50 per cent cap on reservations be removed. The CWC is also expected to urge the government to implement Article 15(5), which pertains to reservations in private educational institutions.

The CWC meeting would be held at the party’s 24, Akbar Road headquarters here at 4 PM.

-PTI

The Maharashtra Cyber has recorded more than 10 lakh cyber attacks on Indian systems by hacking groups from various countries, including Pakistan, in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack update , officials have said.

Maharashtra Cyber, the cybercrime detection wing of the state police, has noticed that the digital attack incidents increased after the April 22 terror strike in Kashmir, a senior police official said on Thursday.

“There were over 10 lakh cyber attacks on India after the Pahalgam attack,” said Yashasvi Yadav, Additional Director General of Police, Maharashtra Cyber Department.

These attacks targeting Indian websites and portals were made from Pakistan, the Middle East, Indonesia and Morocco, he said.

-PTI

Pakistani troops resorted to unprovoked firing along the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border (IB) in five districts of Jammu and Kashmir, prompting retaliation from the Indian Army, officials said on Thursday.

This is the eighth consecutive night of unprovoked firing along the LoC, amid heightened tensions following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam in which 26 people were killed.

Civilians living along the LoC and IB have begun cleaning their community and individual bunkers to make them habitable in case of escalation to shelling.

“During the night of May 1-2, 2025, Pakistani Army posts resorted to unprovoked small arms fire from posts across the LoC opposite Kupwara, Baramulla, Poonch, Naushera, and Akhnoor areas of Jammu and Kashmir,” a defence spokesperson in Jammu said.

Indian Army troops responded in a calibrated and proportionate manner, the spokesperson added.

-PTI

The United States stands strong with India against terrorism and Prime Minister Narendra Modi “has our full support”, the State Department said underlining that Secretary of State Marco Rubio urges India and Pakistan to work towards a responsible resolution that maintains long-term peace and regional stability in South Asia.

State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said at a press briefing Thursday that Washington is “monitoring closely” the situation between India and Pakistan amid rising tensions.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke separately with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Wednesday.

“As the President articulated to Prime Minister Modi last week, the United States stands strong with India against terrorism, and Prime Minister Modi has our full support,” Bruce said.

-PTI

Citing security concerns, Pakistan has announced the closure of specific portions of Karachi and Lahore airspace for four hours each day during May and put all airports across the country on high alert, a media report said Thursday (May 1, 2025).

The development comes amid heightened tension between India and Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack update and Islamabad’s apprehension of retaliatory action by New Delhi.

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

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As many as 70 Pakistani nationals were stranded here on Thursday, officials said, as the deadline for leaving India expired a day earlier.

The Attari-Wagah border was shut on Thursday after being kept open till April 30. The Centre issued the ‘Leave India’ notice to Pakistani nationals after 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed by terrorists with Pakistan links in Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22.

The deadline for exiting India for those holding SAARC visas was April 26. For those carrying medical visas, the deadline was April 29.

The deadline for 12 other categories of visas was April 27. These were visas on arrival and visas for business, film, journalists, transit, conferences, mountaineering, students, visitors, group tourists, pilgrims and group pilgrims.

After the expiry of the deadline, no one from Pakistan or India could cross over to each other’s country.

-PTI

Air India expects to face around $600 million in additional costs if a ban from Pakistan’s airspace lasts for a year, and has asked the federal government to compensate it for the hit, a company letter seen by Reuters shows. Indian airlines are bracing for higher fuel costs and longer journey times after Pakistan shut its airspace to the country’s carriers in a tit-for-tat retaliation following an attack on tourists in Kashmir last week.

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Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi is set to pay a two-day visit to India from May 7 to boost overall bilateral relations in areas of trade, investment and connectivity, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

Araghchi’s visit to New Delhi is taking place amid increasing tensions between India and Pakistan over the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack update and New Delhi may apprise him about the cross border linkages to strike.

Three days after the strike, the Iranian foreign minister offered to defuse tensions between India and Pakistan saying Tehran stands ready to use its good offices in Islamabad and New Delhi to “forge greater understanding at this difficult time”.

“India and Pakistan are brotherly neighbors of Iran, enjoying relations rooted in centuries-old cultural and civilizational ties. Like other neighbors, we consider them our foremost priority,” Araghchi said in a social media post.

-PTI

The calculated brutality of the terror attack in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir appears to have crossed a red line for India-Pakistan ties that were already at an all-time low. Following its diplomatic measures against Pakistan, what appropriate military response can India craft? Has the Pahalgam attack crossed a red line? Sharat Sabharwal and Lieutenant General (Retired) Deependra Singh Hooda discuss the question in a conversation moderated by Suhasini Haidar.

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Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met on Thursday (May 1, 2025) to discuss the security situation and vowed to respond to “any act of aggression in a befitting manner”.

According to an official statement, they said that Pakistan would never compromise on its territorial integrity and sovereignty and would “respond to any act of aggression in a befitting manner”.

“Pakistani nation is united and stands behind its armed forces, who are capable of responding to any threat or aggression,” the leaders said.

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Indian airlines have submitted their inputs on the impact of the Pakistan airspace closure to the civil aviation ministry, which is assessing the situation and looking at possible solutions to address the resultant challenges, according to sources.

The ministry, recently, held a meeting with various airlines to discuss about the Pakistan airspace closure and sought their inputs on the fallout and suggestions to deal with the situation.

Airlines, including Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet, have given their inputs and suggestions to the ministry, the sources in the know said on Thursday.

The sources said Air India has estimated that the additional expenses in case the airspace closure is in place for a year would be around USD 600 million and has suggested about some kind of financial assistance to tackle the situation.

PTI

Ripples of rising hostility between India and Pakistan after the recent terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam are strikingly noticeable at Attari-Wagah, the international border between the two countries. Anguish, dismay, uncertainty, and resilience are all palpable in Punjab’s Amritsar and its border villages, even as tensions between the nuclear-armed nations and temperatures of the scorching summer continue to soar.

At Baisaran meadow, near Pahalgam in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir, 26 people, all but one of whom were tourists, were killed by terrorists on April 22.

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A large cluster of Indian community groups and diaspora organisations gathered outside the High Commission of India in London on Thursday to counter a protest organised by pro-Khalistan extremists.

The protesters, contained across the road from India House behind barricades with Metropolitan Police officers on patrol, were outnumbered and out-chanted by the counter-protesters on the Indian side.

Waving the Indian Tricolour and placards condemning terrorism, the demonstrators chanted slogans hailing the Sikh faith towards the gathering across the road.

“This demonstration is in response to a pro-Khalistan protest organised by separatist groups. Members of the Indian diaspora have gathered in large numbers to express their support for India’s unity and sovereignty,” said the Friends of India Society International (FISI) UK, one of the groups behind Thursday’s counter-protest.

-PTI

“We don’t want people going after Muslims and Kashmiris,” Himanshi Narwal said on Thursday (May 1, 2025), stoic but firm as she mourned her husband, Naval officer Lt. Vinay Narwal, who was gunned down in Pahalgam just 10 days ago. He would have been 27 today.

Narwal’s mother and wife Ms. Himanshi broke into tears as tributes were being paid to the Naval officer at a blood donation camp organised in Karnal, the town where he grew up.

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Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday (May 1, 2025) said that the terrorists who had carried out the “cowardly” Pahalgam terror attack would not be spared.

“If anyone thinks that they have won by carrying out cowardly attacks, then they should know that this is the Modi government — which will not spare anyone,” Mr. Shah said during an event to unveil the statue and naming of a road after Bodofa Upendranath Brahma, a Bodo social activist, at the national capital.

Paying tribute to those who had lost their lives in the Pahalgam terror attack update , the Union Home Minister conveyed to their families that this was not just their loss but the loss of the entire nation.

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The U.S. stands “in solidarity” with India and supports its “right to defend itself”, Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth said in a conversation with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, while the latter said Pakistan had a “history” of supporting, training and funding terrorist organisations, the first direct reference to Pakistan by a senior Minister in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack.

The call between the Defence Ministers came after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to both External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, calling on India and Pakistan to “work together” to de-escalate tensions.

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Amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan, the UN Security Council will be seized of the matter and could discuss the situation if such a request is made, President of the Council for the month of May Ambassador Evangelos Sekeris said on Thursday.

“This is an issue which is now ongoing, evolving,” Sekeris said at a press briefing.

Sekeris, who is the Permanent Representative of Greece to the UN, said that the Council had recently issued a press statement condemning the heinous terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice. “We are listening, of course, we are monitoring closely the situation and will be seized on the matter, of course. This is certain that will happen,” he said.

He added that any act of terrorism is strongly condemned.

-PTI