This Week in Explainers: How Pahalgam terrorists still remain at large

India is reeling from the horrific terror attack in Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives. The hunt is on for the terrorists – three of whom have been identified by the security forces – involved in the April 22 massacre. They are believed to be still hiding in south Kashmir.

The Pahalgam terror attack has sparked fresh tensions between India and Pakistan. After tit-for-tat diplomatic measures, New Delhi is now mulling to pushing for Pakistan’s return to the ‘grey list’ of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

In other news, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has formally commissioned India’s first deep-sea transshipment port at Vizhinjam in Kerala. The seaport can change the face of India’s maritime trade.

Here’s all this and more in our weekly wrap from India.

1. Security forces are on the hunt for the terrorists of the Pahalgam massacre. The Jammu and Kashmir Police have released the sketches of three perpetrators – two Pakistan nationals and one resident of south Kashmir. Indian agencies suspect there was a fourth terrorist who remained hidden nearby to provide backup.

Several reports, citing National Investigation Agency (NIA) sources, say the Pahalgam attackers remain in the dense forests in south Kashmir and have provisions to sustain themselves. The terrorists remain at large even more than a week after the attack, as the terrain of the region adds to their advantage. Read more in our story about how terrorists continue to be hidden in south Kashmir.

2. India is taking measures to expose and choke Pakistan’s support of terrorism in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack. New Delhi has blamed Islamabad for the terror attack, a charge that the neighbouring country denies.

Now, India is considering pushing Pakistan’s re-entry into the grey list of FATF, the global money laundering and terror financing watchdog. Islamabad has been included in the FATF list several times. It was ultimately removed in October 2022. If India succeeds in its efforts, it would severely hurt cash-strapped Pakistan. But how? We explain in this report .

3. The Vizhinjam port in Kerala is India’s first deepwater container transshipment port. Built at a whopping cost of about Rs 8,900 crore, it commenced commercial operations last December.

The seaport has since hosted 285 ships and 5.48 lakh Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEU), including MSC Turkiye – one of the largest cargo ships in the world. PM Modi formally inaugurated the port this week, saying in a post on X that it will “boost trade, commerce and will be particularly beneficial for Kerala’s economy”.

Once the port is completed, it could be a game-changer for India’s maritime history. Read our story to find out more.

4. In a big step, the Narendra Modi-led government has decided to carry out a caste enumeration as part of the upcoming regular census, which could be held next year. Caste census has been a divisive issue in Indian politics for decades.

The opposition parties, including the Congress, have been demanding that all castes be counted in the country. However, the Centre remained ambiguous until now. Caste census was carried out during British rule, but was done away with in independent India. We take a look at the history and debate on the caste census in this report.

5. It was a teary goodbye for many at the Attari border in Punjab’s Amritsar district as hundreds of Pakistanis on visas in India rushed to leave the country by the April 27 deadline. In a raft of punitive steps against Islamabad after the Pahalgam terror attack, New Delhi revoked several categories of visas for Pakistani nationals and closed the Attari border.

Similarly, Pakistan announced the closure of the Wagah border with India. This led to Indian and Pakistani nationals scrambling to get back to their countries. The pain of Indians and their Pakistani relatives was evident as they bid their goodbyes at the land route between the two countries in Punjab. Here’s our report on how civilians have been impacted.

6. In a grim incident, an Indian tech entrepreneur in the United States is believed to have shot dead his wife and one of his sons before taking his own life. Harshavardhana S Kikkeri, the CEO of HoloWorld, a robotics firm headquartered in Karnataka’s Mysuru, was found dead at his residence in Washington State, along with Shwetha Panyam, 44, his wife and co-founder of HoloWorld, and their 14-year-old son. The couple’s younger child, a seven-year-old boy, was the only survivor in the family.

The police are yet to reveal the motive behind the act. According to the neighbours, the family was friendly but kept to themselves. Read the tragic tale of the Kikkeris.

This is all we have for you this week. If you like reading our explainers and want to stay updated, you can bookmark this page .