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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared on Thursday that all those accountable for the most severe attack on civilians in disputed Muslim-majority Kashmir in 25 years will be punished.
Following the shooting of 26 individuals in the popular tourist destination of Pahalgam on Tuesday, India has accused Pakistan of facilitating “cross-border terrorism,” resulting in a significant downturn in relations between the two nuclear-armed nations.
While addressing a gathering in Bihar state to unveil development initiatives, Modi began by observing two minutes of silence in honour of the victims, who were all Indian, except for one Nepali.
“I say to the whole world: India will identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backer,” he said in his first speech since the attack in the Himalayan region. “We will pursue them to the ends of the Earth”. Modi said.
In response to New Delhi’s announcement of various punitive diplomatic actions, Pakistan, which rejects any involvement in the Pahalgam attack, convened an unusual national security meeting on Thursday.
These actions included halting a water-sharing agreement, closing the main land border crossing with Pakistan, and downgrading diplomatic relations.
However, many view these steps as mainly symbolic, and there are concerns that New Delhi’s diplomatic measures may only be the beginning, raising the possibility of military engagement.
“I say this unequivocally: whoever has carried out this attack, and the ones who devised it, will be made to pay beyond their imagination”, Modi said, speaking in Hindi in front of a large crowd.
Since their independence in 1947, Kashmir has been split between India and Pakistan, with both nations claiming the entire territory while governing separate parts. Rebel factions have conducted an insurgency in the Indian-administered region of Kashmir starting in 1989, seeking either independence or unification with Pakistan.
The shooting incident this week marked a significant change, as it involved civilians being targeted rather than the more frequent, smaller attacks against Indian security personnel.
Modi concluded his address with a few remarks in English, addressing an international audience.
Indian security forces have begun a large-scale manhunt for the assailants, resulting in numerous people being detained during the operation.
The police have placed a bounty of two million rupees ($23,500) on several individuals, believed to be affiliated with the Pakistan-based group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which the United Nations designates as a terrorist entity.
