Pahalgam Terror Attack: Security Operations Intensify; Diplomatic Tensions Escalate

 Four days after the deadly terror attack in Pahalgam, security forces continue extensive anti-terror operations across Jammu and Kashmir. Overnight, authorities demolished the residences of three active militants in a significant crackdown on terror networks in the Valley.

Amid heightened security concerns, all trekking activities across Jammu and Kashmir have been suspended until further notice. The move comes against a backdrop of escalating tensions along the Line of Control (LoC), with repeated ceasefire violations by Pakistan met with strong retaliatory action from the Indian Army.

In an unexpected development, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has proposed a "neutral and credible" investigation into the attack. The offer comes even as India firmly accused Islamabad of facilitating "cross-border terrorism" in what is being described as the most severe terror incident since the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. Officials reported that Pakistani forces further inflamed the situation by engaging in unprovoked firing across multiple LoC sectors for a second consecutive day early Saturday.

Meanwhile, on Friday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah convened a high-level meeting in New Delhi to discuss the future of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan, which India has now suspended. The meeting was attended by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Union Minister for Jal Shakti C.R. Paatil, and senior officials from key ministries.

India’s suspension of the decades-old treaty follows the Pahalgam attack, which claimed 26 lives, most of them tourists. In a poignant tribute to the victims, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, led a candlelight vigil in New Delhi.

As diplomatic and military tensions escalate, particularly after repeated ceasefire violations, Union Minister C.R. Paatil emphasized that India will take all necessary measures to ensure not a single drop of Indus river water reaches Pakistan. According to sources, the ministers are considering a range of strategic options, including the desilting of existing dams, diversion of river waters, and the construction of new reservoirs.