Mumbai, April 24 (IANS) Maulana Ilyas Khan Falahi, President of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH), Maharashtra, on Wednesday condemned the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam and said that those responsible for this barbaric act must be brought to justice and must be given the harshest punishment.
“The loss of innocent lives is deeply saddening. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their grieving families. There can be no justification for such a barbaric act. It is completely inhuman and deserves absolute and unequivocal condemnation. Those responsible must be brought to justice and given the harshest punishment,” he said in a statement.
No cause can ever justify such violence, Falahi said, adding that the Centre and Jammu and Kashmir authorities should take decisive steps to ensure justice for the victims, bolster security measures and safeguard vulnerable communities.
He also called on civil society, religious leaders and the media to refrain from narratives that may further inflame tensions.
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday chaired a high-level meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) over the heinous Pahalgam terror attack.
Several leaders, including Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, S. Jaishankar and Nirmala Sitharaman, attended the meeting, which was held at the PM’s residence at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg in New Delhi.
The CCS met on Wednesday evening under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister.
The CCS was briefed in detail on the terrorist attack on April 22, 2025, in Pahalgam, in which 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen were killed. A number of others sustained injuries.
The CCS condemned the attack in the strongest terms and expressed its deepest condolences to the families of the victims and hoped for the early recovery of the injured.
Strong expressions of support and solidarity have been received from many governments around the world, which have unequivocally condemned this terror attack.
The CCS expressed its appreciation for such sentiments, which reflect a zero tolerance approach to terrorism.
It was noted that this attack came in the wake of the successful elections in the Union Territory and its steady progress towards economic growth and development.
Recognising the seriousness of this terrorist attack, 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.
The Attari Integrated Check Post will be closed immediately. Those who have crossed over with valid endorsements may return through that route before May 1, 2025.
Pakistani nationals will not be permitted to travel to India under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) for visa purposes.
Any SVES visas issued in the past to Pakistani nationals are deemed cancelled.
Any Pakistani national currently in India under an SVES visa has 48 hours to leave India.
The Defence, Military, Naval, and Air Advisors at the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi have been declared Persona Non Grata. They have a week to leave India.
India will withdraw its own Defence, Navy, and Air Advisors from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. 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 reduced to 30 from the current 55 through further reductions, to be implemented by May 1, 2025.
Meanwhile, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday afternoon expressed deep anguish over the loss of innocent lives in the attack and reaffirmed the government’s zero-tolerance policy against terrorism.
Calling the incident a “cowardly act,” Singh vowed that the perpetrators, along with those operating behind the scenes, would face a strong and decisive response.
“We lost many innocent lives in the cowardly act in Pahalgam. We are deeply distressed. I express my condolences to the families who lost their loved ones,” Singh said in his address to the nation.
“We will not only reach the perpetrators of this act but also the actors behind the scenes. The accused will soon see a loud and clear response, I want to assure the country,” he added.
Prior to his address, the Defence Minister chaired a high-level security meeting with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh, and other top officials to assess the situation in the region.
Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Jammu and Kashmir to oversee the security response and offer condolences.
Union Minister Shah visited the Government Medical College in Anantnag to meet the injured victims and later travelled to the Baisaran meadow in Pahalgam, where the attack took place.
He conducted an aerial survey before landing at the site and assessing the ground situation firsthand.
–IANS
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