India may act at a time of its choice after Pahalgam terror attack

India will likely pick a time of its own choosing to retaliate against Tuesday’s terrorist attack on civilians in Pahalgam, a mountainous town in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, according to sources.

 

At least 26 tourists were killed and more than 17 injured in the targeted attack in a forest clearing by gunmen, who India suspects, have ties to Pakistan.

 

On Wednesday, India announced a series of diplomatic measures to downgrade relations, including the suspension of the shared Indus River treaty and the closure of a border post where a ceremonial change of guards took place for long.

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at a public event in Bihar on Thursday that India would pursue the attackers to the ends of the Earth, and punish “every terrorist and their backers”.

 

The rare attack on tourists in the Indian region, which had witnessed relative peace in the recent years after decades of insurgency, was reportedly carried out by an affiliate of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, which India has designated as a terrorist organisation.

 

The police in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir, where the town is located, said on Thursday that two of four suspects are Pakistani nationals.

 

Pakistan has denied involvement and gone into high alert itself.

 

The police have also offered Rs 2 million as reward money for information on each of the suspects.

 

Although Jammu and Kashmir was militarised in the past, Tuesday’s “surprise attack” seemed to have occurred amid security and intelligence lapses.

 

According to eyewitness accounts of the attack, as viewed on social media, the gunmen took some time to identify their male targets before killing them. It is unclear how far the police and the paramilitary forces were from the tourist site.

 

The focus is to find all the attackers and the plotters, the sources said on the condition of anonymity.   

 

“The attack was made with the intention of bringing Kashmir back into international focus, because the union territory had begun to feel a sense of normalcy,” one source said.

 

Millions, including foreign nationals, have visited the Indian region for tourism in the recent years, according to the local Jammu and Kashmir government.   

 

A candlelight vigil for the victims was held by residents of Pahalgam on the night of the attack.

 

The union territory’s tourism industry is expected to take a hit.