India closes main border crossing with Pakistan after Kashmir attack

An Indian woman crying is consoled by a man and a woman.Image source, Reuters
Image caption,

The killing of tourists at a Himalayan beauty spot has triggered mourning and anger in India

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India has announced measures targeting Pakistan, a day after 26 people were killed by gunmen in an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir.

They include the closure of the main border crossing linking the two countries, the suspension of a water-sharing treaty and the expulsion of diplomats.

India has also cancelled some visas held by Pakistanis and ordered holders to leave within two days, while demanding Pakistan renounces "support for cross-border terrorism" - something Islamabad denies.

Tuesday's killing of tourists gathered at a Himalayan beauty spot in Pahalgam was one of the deadliest incidents in Indian-administered Kashmir in recent years.

There has been a long-running insurgency in the Muslim-majority region for several decades.

The Indian government has responded furiously to the attack and has signalled it holds Pakistan indirectly responsible.

Indian security agencies believe a group called the Kashmir Resistance was behind the attack, though BBC News has not independently verified that.

A manhunt for the gunmen responsible was continuing on Wednesday evening.

Pakistan's government said its National Security Council - the country's highest military and security body - would meet on Thursday.

In the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack, the Pakistani foreign ministry said it was "concerned at the loss of tourists' lives" and expressed condolences.

India has long accused successive governments in Islamabad of supporting armed groups in the region, which Pakistan strongly denies.

Under the measures announced by India on Wednesday, Pakistani military advisers based at the Delhi embassy were told to leave immediately, and more diplomatic expulsions are planned for next week, a statement said.

The Pahalgam attack risks reigniting long-running tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals.

In a statement, the Indian government said "the perpetrators of the attack will be brought to justice and their sponsors held to account".

It said India would be "unrelenting in the pursuit of those who have committed acts of terror, or conspired to make them possible".

Earlier, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also signalled India's response would go beyond targeting the perpetrators.

He said: "We will not only reach those who have perpetrated this incident but also those who, sitting behind the scenes, have conspired to commit such acts on the soil of India."

The attack has been widely condemned by international leaders and has generated outrage and mourning in India.

Eyewitnesses have described chaotic and bloody scenes as holidaymakers including entire families fled for their lives.

Some witnesses said it appeared the gunmen targeted non-Muslims but others have described the shooting as random.

Most of the victims were Hindu men, though a local Muslim man was among the victims.

India's government has not given an official account on whether people were targeted on the basis of religion.