A month back on April 22, 2025, a group of terrorists opened fire at civilians, mostly tourists in Baisaran meadow near Kashmir바카라s Pahalgam town, killing 26 people, in what is the deadliest attack in the Valley since the Pulwama strike in 2019.
The National Investigation Agency is continuing their investigation to nab the accused who all have been identified. Reportedly, an award of Rs 20 lakh has been announced to provide information of the three accused in the attack - Asif Fauji, Suleman Shah and Abu Talha.
In retaliation to the heinous terror attack, India launched Operation Sindoor against the terrorist hideouts in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir on the intervening night of May 6 and May 7 and took down nearly 100 terrorists.
Following the operation, tensions escalated between India and Pakistan as cross-border firing, drone and missile attacks were reported until the two neighbours announced a ceasefire on May 10.
Pahalgam Terror Attack Probe Underway
The Ministry of External Affairs told a parliamentary committee that the initial probe into the Pahalgam terror attack has revealed "communication nodes" of terrorists with their "masterminds in Pakistan".
The attack has "footprints and tracks" similar to previous attacks claimed by The Resistance Front, the ministry said in a presentation, adding the terror organisation is just another name of designated terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
The ministry also said Pakistan blames India for the killings of some individuals, labelled as extra-judicial and extra-territorial by the neighbouring country, on its soil even though its allegations are devoid of any facts or evidence.
Posters have appeared in different parts of Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district announcing a reward of Rs 20 lakh for information about three terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack.
The posters, pasted at several places in the south Kashmir district, have photographs of the three terrorists who are believed to have carried out the April 22 attack in Baisaran meadows in the tourist resort in south Kashmir.
Written in Urdu, the posters sought the help of the people in tracing the terrorists, saying "those who killed the innocents do not have a place in our country".
Security agencies had released the sketches of three men suspected to be involved in the terror attack.
According to PTI, the men, all presumably Pakistanis, were identified as Asif Fauji, Suleman Shah and Abu Talha. They reportedly had code names Moosa, Yunus and Asif and were involved in terror-related incidents in Poonch.
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Operation Sindoor Launched As A Retaliation To Pahalgam Terror Attack
In a strong retaliation to the Pahalgam massacre, India's armed forces early May 7 destroyed nine terror sites including that of Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) using deep strike missiles in a 25-minute-long "measured and non-escalatory" mission.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said India decided to carry out the "proportionate" strikes to bring the perpetrators and planners of the Pahalgam attack to justice as there was "no demonstrable step" from Pakistan to act against terrorist infrastructure on territories under its control. It was for the first time since the 1971 Indo-Pak war that India carried out an aerial attack deep inside Punjab province of Pakistan.
Fifteen days after the Pahalgam terror attack, the targets for the military response codenamed 'Operation Sindoor' included the Jaish-e-Mohammad(JeM) stronghold of Bahawalpur in Punjab province that is located at over 100 km from the Indian border.
JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar acknowledged that 10 members of his family and four close associates were killed in India's missile attack.
Under 'Operation Sindoor', the Indian military targeted Markaz Taiba of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in Muridke, Markaz Subhan Allah of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) in Bahawalpur and Hizbul Mujahideen's Mehmoona Joya Facility in Sialkot and LeT's base in Markaz Ahle Hadith in Barnala and its camp in Muzaffarabad's Shawai Nalla, military officials said. Muridke, located a short distance from Lahore, is home to a sprawling "markaz" or base of the LeT.
According to PTI, it was Prime Minister Modi who picked the erm 'Operation Sindoor' to codename the Indian response. 'Sindoor' is a reference to the red vermillion that married Hindu women wear to signify their married status.
In the Pahalgam attack, the husbands of several women were killed in front of them, including an Indian Navy officer.
India-Pakistan Tensions Continue
India on April 23 announced that the Indus Water Treaty of 1960 with Pakistan will be held in abeyance with immediate effect, until Islamabad credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism.
India on April 24 announced revoking all visas issued to Pakistani nationals from April 27 and advised Indian nationals residing in Pakistan to return home at the earliest as tensions between the two countries escalated over the Pahalgam terror attack.
After the Operation Sindoor was launched, cross-border firing, drone attacks were reported over the next four days which stopped after India and Pakistan announced ceasefire on May 10.
India on May 13 reiterated that the Indus Waters Treaty will stay in abeyance until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures support for cross-border terrorism.
Following the pause, the Union government formed seven delegations comprising 51 political leaders, parliamentarians and former ministers cutting across party lines who will travel to world capitals to put across India's resolve to tackle terrorism.
