Cross-border links to Pahalgam attack: India downgrades diplomatic ties with Pak; Sketches of 3 terror suspects released

New Delhi/Srinagar, Apr 23 (PTI) Underscoring the "cross-border linkages" of the Pahalgam terror attack, India on Wednesday downgraded diplomatic ties with Pakistan as it announced five major measures that also included suspension of the Indus Water Treaty and expulsion of Pakistani military attaches.

As India turned up the heat on Pakistan with what is seen as retaliatory measures after the carnage in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday that left 26 people, mostly tourists, dead, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also vowed a "strong response" in the "near future." Immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit post was among the measures announced after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security(CCS).

India will not only hunt down the people who perpetrated the attack but will also trace those "sitting behind the scenes" who had conspired to carry out the massacre on the Indian soil, a sombre-looking Singh said at a public event in Delhi.

The CCS met this evening under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and firmed up the responses to the brazen attack which has evoked worldwide condemnation.

The CCS was given a briefing on the incident including the "cross-border linkages" of the terrorist attack, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri told a late evening press briefing.

"It was noted that this attack came in the wake of the successful holding of elections in the Union Territory (Jammu and Kashmir) and its steady progress towards economic growth and development," he said.

"It(the CCS) resolved that the perpetrators of the attack will be brought to justice and their sponsors held to account." Security agencies also released sketches of three Pakistani terrorists as a grim Centre took stock of the situation and anguished families bid adieu to the men they had loved and lost. The Resistance Front (TRF), a shadow outfit of the banned Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Officials said that initial investigations into the carnage also indicated that the number of terrorists involved could be between five and seven, aided by at least two local militants who received training in Pakistan, officials said.

The CCS also decided to close the Integrated Check Post at Attari with immediate effect, Misri said. Attari is the main border crossing checkpost.

It is learnt that the CCS meeting held at the prime minister's 7, Lok Nayak Marg residence lasted for around two-and-a-half hours.

Besides the prime minister, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar were present at the meeting, along with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and senior bureaucrats.

Shah briefed the prime minister on the attack and discussed the measures to be taken in its aftermath.

At the media briefing, Misri said Pakistani nationals will not be permitted to travel to India under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) and any such visas issued in the past to Pakistani nationals are deemed cancelled.

The CCS decided that the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 will be held in abeyance with immediate effect, until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism, he said.

On closing of the Attari post, Misri said those who have crossed over with valid endorsements may return through that route before May 1.

Misri said, "The defence, military, naval and air Advisors in the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi are declared Persona Non Grata." They have a week to leave India, he added.

India will be withdrawing its own defence, navy and air advisors from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, he said.

"These posts in the respective High Commissions are deemed annulled. Five support staff of the Service Advisors will also be withdrawn from both High Commissions." "The overall strength of the High Commissions will be brought down to 30 from the present 55 through further reductions, to be effected by May 1." Misri said the CCS reviewed the overall security situation and directed all forces to maintain high vigil.

"As with the recent extradition of Tahawwur Rana, India will be unrelenting in the pursuit of those who have committed acts of terror, or conspired to make them possible," he said.

Prime Minister Modi, who cut short his visit to Saudi Arabia, met Jaishankar and Doval in the morning at the airport itself.

Rajnath Singh also reviewed the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir with Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan, the three service chiefs, defence secretary and the director general of military operations.

It is learnt that Singh directed the armed forces to enhance their combat readiness and increase intensity of anti-terror operations.

It was a day of hushed silences, angry discussions and cries of despair as an entire nation mourned those killed in the brazen attack targeting holidayers in the scenic expanse of the Baisaran meadow, six kilometres from Pahalgam.

Other ministers, including Amit Shah, also issued strong statements.

Shah, who visited Baisaran, met the injured in hospital and chaired security review meetings, also signalled the intent of the government.

"Bharat will not bow to terror. The culprits of this dastardly terror attack will not be spared," he said reflecting the government’s resolve in the face of the deadliest terror attack since the Pulwama strike and the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.

"Those behind the Pahalgam atrocity will face severe consequences." Giving a face to the terrorists behind the massacre, security agencies released the sketches of three of the five men suspected to be involved in the terror attack. They are all Pakistanis, officials said, identifying them as Asif Fauji, Suleman Shah and Abu Talha.

They had code names -- Moosa, Yunus and Asif -- and were involved in terror-related incidents in Poonch.

Prepared with the help of survivors, the pencil sketches were in black and white. From the line drawings, they appear to be young and have beards.

As the top government brass met in Delhi and Srinagar to assess the security implications and strategise on what lies ahead, the families and friends of the 26 men, mostly tourists holidaying in Kashmir, dealt with their individual, very personal tragedies.

A wave of protests also swept Jammu and Kashmir and other states against the Pahalgam strike, with political parties as well as religious and social organisations asserting that such acts were against Islamic teachings and calling for unity in the face of the challenge posed by terrorists and their backers.

And in ground zero, Kashmiris sent out a clear message - Not In My Name.

Srinagar city and other parts of Kashmir shut down, the first time since Article 370 was abrogated and the state was downgraded into a union territory in August 2019.

The spate of cancelled tourist bookings and the rush to leave Kashmir also indicated the uncertainty of the months to come.

While the Jammu and Kashmir government condemned the "senseless" killing of 26 people and sanctioned an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased victim, the J-K police announced Rs 20 lakh bounty for information on terrorists involved in the attack.

Official sources in Delhi said the Centre will be convening an all-party meeting on Thursday in the wake of the terror attack. Defence Minister Singh is likely to chair it, they said. PTI TEAM MPB SKL MIN RT GSN GSN

Source: PTI