NEW DELHI, April 24. /TASS/. The Indian government plans to introduce tougher measures after the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir, said Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju, speaking to reporters after a meeting organized by the government with representatives of all political parties.
"The Defence Minister informed about the incident that happened in Pahalgam and the actions taken by the Indian government in the CCS meeting. This incident is very sad. Due to which everyone in the country is worried, keeping this in mind, the Indian government has also expressed its intention to take more stringent action today," Rijiju said.
"Everyone has agreed that India should unite against terrorism. India has taken strong action against terrorism in the past and will continue to do so. All parties said that they are with the government in this fight against terrorism."
Asaduddin Owaisi, head of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen party, said that "the central government can take action against the nation which shelters the terrorist groups. International law also permits us to do an air and naval blockade in self-defense against Pakistan and impose sanctions on Pakistan on arms sales."
Rahul Gandhi, leader of the Indian National Congress party, said that all the participants of the meeting condemned the terrorist act. "The opposition has given full support to the government to take any action," he said.
BJD deputy Sasmit Patra called on the government to take all necessary steps to ensure that those responsible for the attack were brought to justice. "Biju Janta reaffirms its full cooperation and support to the government in all its efforts concerning the national security of the nation. The overall consensus that has come out of this meeting is that all the political parties are together on this matter and we support the government fully in whatever actions it wants to take to bring the perpetrators to justice," he said.
Terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir
On April 22, armed men opened fire with machine guns in the popular tourist town of Pahalgam (Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir) and killed 25 Indians and one Nepalese and wounded many more. The attackers, dressed in fatigues, fled. The Indian intelligence services have discovered evidence of the involvement of the Pakistani Interagency Intelligence in the attack of terrorists from the Lashkar-e-Taiba group, The Hindustan Times reported, citing sources.
After the attack, India almost halved the staff of its embassy in Islamabad, declared the military advisors of the Pakistani diplomatic mission in India persona non grata, and closed the key Attari checkpoint on the border with Pakistan.
It also suspended an agreement with Islamabad on the allocation of water resources and the issuance of visas to Pakistani citizens and cancel the previously issued ones starting on April 27.
The Pakistani Security Council said it was suspending all agreements with India, and promised to consider any India’s attempt to divert the water flow from the Indus river as an act of war.
Pakistan has closed its airspace to India, the Wagah checkpoint, and declared Indian defense, navy, and aviation advisors persona non grata. According to the Pakistani Security Council, it has evidence that India is sponsoring terrorist groups in the country.