Image source, Jammu and Kashmir Police

Police in Indian-administered Kashmir's Anantnag district have issued a notice naming three of the four suspected gunmen behind the Pahalgam attack.

Two of the three men are Pakistani nationals, the notice says, while the third is a local man from Anantnag. There is no information yet about the fourth suspect.

Police say all the three are members of the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). None of the men have commented on the allegations yet. Pakistan has denied any role in the attack.

Police have offered a 2m-rupee ($23,400; £17,623) reward for information on each of these suspects along with assurances that the identity of the informants will be kept secret.

Addressing a rally in Bihar state, the Indian prime minster said India will pursue the Pahalgam attackers "to the ends of the Earth".

As we had reported earlier, Modi had cut short his trip to Saudi Arabia and returned to India after the attacks. In a post on X on Tuesday after the killings, he had written:

"Those behind this heinous act will be brought to justice... They will not be spared! Their evil agenda will never succeed. Our resolve to fight terrorism is unshakeable and it will get even stronger."

But this is the first time he has spoken publicly on the attacks since then.

"Today, from the soil of Bihar, I say to the whole world [that] India will identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backers.

"We will pursue them to the ends of the Earth. India's spirit will never be broken by terrorism," he said, adding that the entire country is "firm in this resolve".

"Everyone who believes in humanity is with us. I thank the people of various countries and their leaders who have stood with us in these times," he added.

We are now hearing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first public comments on the attacks."Our enemies have dared to attack the country's soul," he said at an event in the state of Bihar.

"I want to say this clearly: the terrorists behind the killings, along with their backers, will get a punishment bigger than they can imagine," he said.

We are now hearing reports of Kashmiri students in parts of India facing harassment in the aftermath of Tuesday's killings.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said his government was in touch with officials from some of the states where students were allegedly threatened or assaulted - but did not give further details.

A spokesperson for Abdullah's National Conference party said several videos showing students being harassed in colleges and other places were being circulated online.

Abdullah's key opponent and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said she had spoken to Home Minister Amit Shah, urging him "to ensure the safety and protection wherever such incidents are being reported".

Nasir Khuehami, head of the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association, shared a video of a right-wing Hindu group threatening to physically assault Kashmiri Muslim students in the northern state of Uttarakhand to ensure they leave.

“The situation is turning grim and deeply concerning. We have received frantic distress calls from Kashmiri students from Arni University, Kathghar (Indora), in Kangra in Himachal Pradesh, who are being harassed, abused and physically attacked by right-wing and fringe elements," Khuehami wrote on X.

The BBC has not been able to independently verify any of these clips.

Image source, Indian National Congress

India's main opposition Congress party held an emergency meeting of its working committee in Delhi on Thursday to discuss the Pahalgam attack.

Party leader Mallikarjun Kharge said he had spoken to Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday night and that he had been assured of "drastic action" against the attackers.

"This is no time for partisan politics," Kharge said after the Congress meeting. "This is a moment for collective resolve to ensure justice for those who lost lives."

"At this moment we are all one with the government in fighting the terrorists," he added.

Kharge said the Congress party had urged the government to use all its resources to hunt down the culprits of the attack.

Congress leaders observed a moment of silence during the meeting to pay tribute to the victims of the attack.

Himanshi Narwal - widowed while on her honeymoon, after just six days of marriage - has become one of the faces of the tragedy.

Himanshi had married Vinay Narwal, a 26-year-old Indian Navy officer, on 16 April. He was shot dead on 22 April in Pahalgam. After the attack, a photo of Himanshi sitting near her husband’s body, was widely shared on social media.

On Wednesday, a moving video showed Himanshi hugging and crying over her husband's coffin.

"It is because of him that the world is still surviving. And we should all be proud of him in every way," she said.

Image source, ANI

Shaitan Singh, an Indian who was set to travel to Pakistan for his wedding on Thursday is now unable to do so, he told ANI news agency.

"The wedding ceremony can't happen - we are not being allowed to go (to Pakistan) as the border is closed. Let us see what will happen now," he said.

On Wednesday, Delhi announced a raft of diplomatic measures against Islamabad in light of the killings in Indian-administered Kashmir - one of them was shutting the Attari-Wagah border between the two countries immediately.

People who have crossed into Pakistan with valid documents can return via the border route until 1 May.

The border is an important land-transit route between the two countries for both goods and people and its closure is expected to impact businesses and normal life.

Soutik Biswas
India Correspondent

As we just reported, US Vice-President JD Vance has left India after a four-day visit. The attack in Pahalgam happened while he was in the country.

This is not the first time militancy in Indian-administered Kashmir has overlapped with key US visits.

On 20 March, 2000 - just a day before then US president Bill Clinton arrived in India - 36 Sikh villagers were massacred in Chittisinghpora in Anantnag, allegedly by Pakistan-based militants.

The attack cast a dark shadow over Clinton’s visit, prompting then prime minister AB Vajpayee to raise Pakistan’s role directly with him.

Two years later, on 14 May 2002, during the then US Assistant Secretary of State Christina Rocca’s visit, militants struck again - this time in Kaluchak.

Armed men opened fire on a civilian bus and then attacked an army family quarters, killing 23 people, including 10 children, and injuring 34 others.

These attacks, coinciding with high-level US engagements, reflect how militant groups in the region have used moments of international spotlight to send signals - testing both India's security response and the resilience of its diplomatic partnerships.

Image source, PTI

Pakistani nationals in India have started arriving at the Attari-Wagah border between the countries after Delhi cancelled a visa exemption scheme that had allowed them to stay here.

Those who are currently in India have been given 48 hours to leave the country, the Indian government announced yesterday.

Meanwhile, Indian citizens who are in Pakistan with valid endorsements have been told to return through the route before 1 May.

Mansoor, a Pakistani national, who came to Delhi to visit his relatives said the move had left him upset.

"Whatever happened [in Pahalgam] should not have happened," he told PTI news agency. "However, the government should not have done this [suspended the visa scheme]."

Shaitan Singh, an Indian citizen from the western state of Rajasthan, was scheduled to cross the Attari border to enter Pakistan for his wedding today - but he is now unsure of what he can do.

"The border is closed... Let us see what will happen now," he said.

Image source, Getty Images

India has announced the suspension of a landmark water-sharing treaty with Pakistan. Here's what that means:

What is the treaty?

Signed in 1960 between India and Pakistan with World Bank mediation, the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) governs the sharing of the Indus River system.

It allocates waters from the three eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, Sutlej) to India, and the three western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab) to Pakistan.

It also allows India limited use of the western rivers for non-consumption purposes like hydropower.

How does it work?

The treaty has been seen as a rare example of cooperation, even during India-Pakistan conflicts.

A Permanent Indus Commission - with members from both sides - handles the day-to-day work: sharing data, monitoring water use, and sorting out issues.

If things get serious, disputes can be taken to neutral experts or international arbitration, with the World Bank helping to manage the process.

What if India breaks it?

Unilaterally withdrawing from or violating the the treaty would be a serious breach of international law, experts say.

It could provoke a diplomatic fallout, international criticism and possibly retaliatory measures by Pakistan. Millions in Pakistan rely on the Indus system for agriculture and daily needs.

India began reviewing the treaty after the militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir in September 2016 in which 19 soldiers were killed.

On Tuesday, it suspended the treaty after the Pahalgam attacks in which 26 civilians were killed.

Image source, ANI

US Vice-President JD Vance has left India after a four-day visit. He was accompanied by his wife and children.

During his visit, Vance met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed strengthening India-US ties and the bilateral trade deal the countries are negotiating. He also visited iconic monuments like the Taj Mahal in Agra and Amer fort in Rajasthan.

The brutal attack in Indian-administered Kashmir took place during Vance's stay in India, casting a shadow over his trip. Vance condemned the "horrific" attack and expressed his solidarity with India and the victims.

Image source, ANI

The bodies of victims killed in the attack are continuing to reach their home states.

Social media is full of videos and images of tearful family members performing the last rites of their loved ones. There's plenty of media coverage as the killings have generated a lot of grief and anger across the country.

In the western state of Maharashtra, Asavari Jagdale led the last rites of her father on Thursday. Her father and uncle were killed by gunmen as she watched in horror.

Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and defence analysts in the country have claimed that the Pahalgam attack could be a possible Indian “false flag operation.”

What is a "false flag" operation?

A false flag is a political or military action carried out with the intention of blaming an opponent for it.

Nations have often done this by staging a real or simulated attack on their own side and saying the enemy did it, as a pretext for going to war.

The term was first used in the 16th Century to describe how pirates flew the flag of a friendly nation to deceive merchant ships into allowing them to draw near.

As you can read here, false flag attacks have a long and ignoble history.

South Asia “again stands on a knife’s edge” following the attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, writes Dawn, external, Pakistan's leading English language newspaper in an editorial on Thursday.

"No cause can justify the targeting of innocent non-combatants, and the incident must be roundly condemned, the paper said.

However, "India must also look inwards and review its brutal rule in held Kashmir, which has bred immense discontent", Dawn said.

"...When all peaceful avenues for a just resolution to the Kashmir dispute are blocked, it is not surprising that some inside the occupied territory take up guns to express their anger."

"Genuine peace can only come to Kashmir - and the rest of South Asia - when this nearly eight-decade-old dispute is resolved as per the wishes of the Kashmiris, with buy-in from Pakistan and India," Dawn wrote.

Image source, AFP

Rather than fuelling a blame game or escalating tensions, the tragic Pahalgam attack should be seen as "an opportunity in disaster" to confront the broader threat of terrorism through collective action against a "faceless enemy," The Tribune, external said in a separate editorial.

"That the attack was timed with [JD] Vance's presence in India does point towards some unscrupulous elements choreographing this lethal act to serve their vested designs," the paper wrote.

The Nation , externalsaid in its editorial that the "coordinated outcry [from India] only strengthens Pakistan’s suspicion that the attack may have been pre-planned, a false flag operation designed with a purpose."

The newspaper said that India's suspension of the Indus water-sharing treaty "represents not just a breach of an agreement, but a dangerous escalation aimed at undermining Pakistan’s security and sovereignty."

Image source, The Hindu

Indian newspapers are leading with the government action announced against Pakistan on Wednesday night.

"Terror-hit India pauses Indus pact with Pak," read The Hindu newspaper's front page

"India must speak in one voice in this period of national calamity... The unity of the Indian people is the most potent antidote to terror instigated from across the border," it added.

The Indian Express front page highlighted how people in Indian-administered Kashmir had turned out in protest: ‘Sin to stay silent’: Srinagar to Jammu, towns shut down, people turn out in solidarity, protest attack

In its editorial, the Indian Express wrote: "Nothing can compensate those who lost their loved ones on Tuesday. But the best tribute to those killed in the terror strikes would be for the Centre and state governments to reiterate their commitment to providing a fear-free environment to the people of [Jammu and Kashmir], and to those who visit the [federally administrated territory]. The shikara owner, the tour operator, the cab driver, owners and employees of hotels and inns, entrepreneurs, workers - indeed, everyone has a stake in peace. As the government goes back to the drawing board, it will need the support of all these stakeholders."

Image source, HT

It's a view echoed in other papers.

"The onus is now on the political and security establishment — in New Delhi and Srinagar — to work together, uncover the terror networks and linkages, and gather evidence so that responsibility can be pinned on the perpetrators of the violence," said the editorial in The Hindustan Times newspaper.

"They need to do this without constricting the civic freedoms available to residents, especially since the election of a popular government in October 2024."

Image source, The Telegraph

The Telegraph's editorial board wrote: "New Delhi must build on this show of solidarity expressed by the people of Kashmir so that the State can go on to dismantle the shadowy nexus between militancy and its patrons."

"A lesson that holds true for battle turfs against militancy around the world is that ordinary people hold the key to the outcome of such conflicts. Responding positively to the message sent out by the ordinary Kashmiri against militants would hand New Delhi such an advantage," it added.

On Wednesday night, India announced a raft of retaliatory measures against its neighbour Pakistan. Here's a quick recap:

• It has suspended its six-decade long water treaty with Pakistan - the Indus Water Treaty - which allowed for the sharing of water between the two countries.

• India has also shut a key border with Pakistan which allowed for movement between the countries. This will impact not just the movement of people, but also goods since it's an important land transit point.

• Delhi has also cancelled a visa exemption scheme for Pakistani nationals. Visas that were previously issued under this scheme have also been deemed cancelled and Pakistani nationals who are currently in India under this scheme are required to leave the country within 48 hours.
• Pakistani military advisers in the country's high commission in India have been declared 'persona non grata' and they have been asked to leave the country within one week. India will also withdraw its military advisers from its high commission in Pakistan.
• And lastly, India will also reduce its staff in its high commission in Pakistan and bring down the number of Pakistani diplomats in the Pakistan High Commission in India to 30 from 55 from 1 May.

Pakistani officials, who have denied the country's role in the attack, are meeting on Thursday to come up with a response. Read more here

Protests against the Pahalgam attack, which took place on Tuesday afternoon, are still being held in Indian-administered Kashmir. On Wednesday night, demonstrators came out on the streets in Srinagar, holding a candle-light vigil to demand justice for the victims.

Video by Shafat Farooq, BBC Urdu

Things have been moving fast in the aftermath of the brutal attack in Pahalgam. Here's what's expected to happen today:

• The Indian government is expected to convene an all-party meeting to brief opposition leaders on the attack and discuss further action.
• Kashmir’s Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has also called an all-party meeting in the region
• Pakistan's National Security Committee will meet to determine a response to the Indian government's measures which were announced last night
• The bodies of the people killed in the attack are continuing to reach their hometowns today, and their last rites will be held

• Indian Army is continuing to hold a massive search operation with the Jammu and Kashmir Police in parts of Kashmir to find the suspected attackers

Stay with us as we bring you all the updates