News Desk :
Armed police and soldiers intensified operations in Indian-administered Kashmir on Friday, conducting searches in homes and forests for suspected militants following a deadly attack that claimed the lives of 26 men at a popular tourist site. The incident is being described as the worst civilian massacre in the region in nearly two decades.
The attack, which occurred on Tuesday in the picturesque town of Pahalgam, has triggered widespread outrage across India, alongside renewed calls for decisive action against neighbouring Pakistan. New Delhi has accused Islamabad of supporting and funding terrorism in the contested region, a charge Pakistan has strongly denied.
India’s Chief of Army Staff, General Upendra Dwivedi, visited Srinagar – the region’s capital – on Friday to review the security situation, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to pursue the perpetrators “to
the ends of the earth.” The victims hailed from different parts of India, Modi noted.
Indian authorities said the assault bore cross-border links, identifying three suspects, including two Pakistani nationals. While details remain scarce, police in Kashmir reported demolishing the homes of two suspected militants – one of whom is believed to have been involved in Tuesday’s attack.
Tensions between India and Pakistan – both nuclear-armed nations – have escalated in the wake of the violence. India has suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, a critical agreement governing water sharing of the Indus River and its tributaries, signed in 1960. In response, Pakistan closed its airspace to Indian aircraft.
“We will ensure that not a single drop of the Indus River’s water reaches Pakistan,” said Indian Water Resources Minister C.R. Paatil in a post on X (formerly Twitter). Pakistan, which relies heavily on the Indus system for hydropower and irrigation, warned that any attempt to block or divert water would be viewed as an “act of war.”
The geopolitical fallout rippled into financial markets. Indian stocks fell between 0.7 per cent and 0.9 per cent, while the rupee weakened by 0.2 per cent. Bond yields also rose, with the 10-year benchmark climbing four basis points.
The closure of Pakistani airspace has also disrupted international travel. Major Indian carriers, including IndiGo and Air India, reported that several long-haul routes-particularly to the United States and Europe – would experience delays and increased operational costs.
The current tension echoes events from 2019, when India launched airstrikes inside Pakistani territory in retaliation for a suicide bombing in Pulwama that killed over 40 Indian paramilitary personnel. Calls for fresh military action are once again surfacing among leaders of Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Indian officials maintain that Pakistan aids and abets separatists in Muslim-majority Kashmir – a claim Islamabad continues to refute. Meanwhile, “bulldozer justice,” a term coined to describe the demolition of homes belonging to suspected criminals – many of them Muslims – has resurfaced. Local authorities confirmed that the demolished homes in this case were allegedly constructed illegally.
Separately, reports emerged of sporadic gunfire along the Line of Control – the de facto border dividing Indian and Pakistani-administered Kashmir – adding to the region’s volatility.
