This Week in Explainers: How India is not sparing Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack

It’s been a heartbreaking week for India. Pahalgham’s scenic Baisaran Valley, buzzing with tourists at this time of the year, is usually filled with cheer and delightful squeals. Instead, on April 22, the sounds of gunshots and screams of the innocent reverberated in the air. Terrorists went on a rampage, killing 26 people, mostly tourists, in front of their families – their wives, daughters and children.

It’s the biggest terror attack on Indian soil since the dastardly 26/11 massacre in Mumbai. Once again, all fingers point at Pakistan.

India is seething. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to “identify and punish every terrorist”. Taking tough measures, the government has paused the Indus Waters Treaty, closed the Attari-Wagah border checkpost, and suspended all Pakistani visas. Islamabad has distanced itself from the terror attack – like it always does – and has suspended the Simla Agreement and shut its airspace to Indian aircraft. The ties between the two nations have once again hit an all-time low. And the situation is likely to escalate.

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In our weekly wrap, we talk about the Pahalgam terror attack and its aftermath.

1. It was a busy afternoon in Baisaran Valley, which was teeming with tourists. But suddenly, all the excitement and joy vanished. Terrorists in army fatigues descended from the surrounding forests. They singled out the men, asked them about their religion and then gunned them down. Here’s how the terror attack unfolded .

2. Twenty-six were killed in the assault; most of them were tourists. There was a newlywed Indian Navy officer on his honeymoon, a US-based techie who was holidaying with his wife and son, an Intelligence Bureau officer, and a local ponywallah, among others. These are their heartbreaking stories .

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3. Hours after the attack, a picture went viral . That of a newlywed woman, wearing chooda, kneeling helplessly next to the body of her husband. The man, who was killed mercilessly, was Indian Navy officer Vinay Narwal; the woman, who has become the face of the tragedy, is his wife, Himanshi. The two tied the knot on April 16, four days before the tragedy.

4. Pointing their guns at helpless tourists, the Pahalgam terrorists asked them to recite the Kalma. Those who could not were killed. A professor from Assam knew the Islamic verses, and his life was spared. But what is the Kalma , and what is its significance to Islam? We explain.

5. Who is behind the Pahalgam massacre? The Resistance Front claimed responsibility for the terror attack soon after the killings. The TRF is an offshoot of the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba and started gaining notoriety in Kashmir in 2020. Here’s what we know about TRF , which was declared a terrorist organisation by India in January 2023.

6. There are conflicting numbers on how many terrorists attacked Pahalgam. However, the investigation has revealed three names: Hashim Musa and Ali Bhai alias Talha from Pakistan, and a Kashmiri identified as Adil Hussain Thoker . According to reports, Lashkar-e-Taiba’s top commander, Saifullah Kasuri , also known as Khalid, masterminded the attack. Here’s what we know about them.

7. As India grapples with the tragedy, it has taken tough action against Pakistan. In a big move, it has suspended the Indus Waters Treaty. The government declared that the pact with remain suspended until Pakistan “credibly and irreversibly” abjures its support for cross-border terrorism. What is this treaty? And how will pausing it affect the neighbouring country? This story analyses the impact.

8. In the aftermath of Pahalgam, the ties between India and Pakistan have reached a breaking point. India has shut the Attari border , suspended the Indus Waters Treaty and cancelled all Pakistani visas. Islamabad has hit back. It has suspended the Simla Agreement and closed its airspace to Indian airlines . Here’s how tensions between the two sides escalated in a matter of days.

That’s all from us this week. This is an essential reading list on the Pahalgam tragedy. We’ll be following this story closely. You can find the latest explainers here .

PS: Amid a grim week, here’s a story of hope. Shakti Dubey from Prayagraj topped the UPSC exam… on her fifth attempt. Here’s how she cracked it .