Pahalgam attack news live updates: UNSC calls ‘closed consultations’ on Indo-Pak tensions an ‘opportunity’

Pahalgam attack news live updates: The Pakistan army violated ceasefire along several sectors across the Line of Control (LoC) and the international border in Jammu. A statement from the Indian army accused Pakistani troops of resorting to unprovoked small arms fire across these regions. “Indian Army responded promptly and proportionately,” it added.…Read More

On Monday, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will hold “closed consultations” after Pakistan, a non-permanent member, requested them to discuss escalating tensions with India after the Pahalgam terror attack. Greece, which holds the UNSC presidency for May, welcomed the discussions as an opportunity to defuse tensions between the two countries. Islamabad will be heading the council for the month of July as per the rotating presidency norm.

In Pakistan, the federal government and the military on Sunday briefed all political parties on the current state of bilateral relations with India, the Dawn reported. Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party also attended the briefing virtually.

According to the report, all political parties vowed a robust response if India resorted to any “misadventure.”

Pahalgam attack updates

• The chief of the air staff, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday and briefed him about the force’s operational readiness in the wake of the anticipation of India’s response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.

• Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major, a former IAF chief, told HT that AP Singh and Navy chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi probably updated PM Modi on the state of readiness to respond to Pakistan.

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also assured the country of a response while speaking at an event. “As a defence minister, it is my responsibility to ensure the security of the country’s borders along with my soldiers. It is my responsibility to give a befitting reply to those who dare to attack our country,” he said.

• The Centre also proceeded with implementing one of its retaliatory measures—suspending the Indus Waters Treaty. HT reported that India has cut off water flow to Pakistan from the Baglihar dam on the Chenab river and is also preparing to taper down runoffs from the Kishanganga project on the Jhelum, following through on its decisions not to allow a “single drop” to go to Pakistan from the Indus rivers.

• Sources also said that the NDA government will soon begin planning to create nearly 12 gigawatts (GW) of additional hydropower from new projects on the Indus rivers, for which feasibility studies have been ordered.

• The customs department has also been put on high alert to thwart Pakistan’s attempts to access Indian markets after the latter stopped all direct and indirect imports from the neighbouring country. Sources told HT that goods from third countries like the UAE and Singapore are expected to be under watch for potential violations.

• Also on Sunday, the X accounts of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and ex-minister Bilawal Bhutto were blocked in India. This came after the central government blocked the Instagram accounts of several Pakistani actors in India, including Hania Amir, Mahira Khan, and Ali Zafar.

In Pakistan, the federal government and the military on Sunday briefed all political parties on the current state of bilateral relations with India, the Dawn reported. Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party also attended the briefing virtually.

Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind President Arshad Madani questioned the practicality of stopping river water flow to Pakistan and said it “won’t be easy.”

“If someone stops water, let them stop it… These rivers have been flowing for thousands of years, where will you take their water? It’s not easy. I think the rule should be one of love and not hatred. I am a Muslim, I am spending my life here in this country, and I know that the things which are being promoted here are not suitable for the country”, Madani said.

According to the UNSC’s website, the council’s presidency will be held by Pakistan for the month of July 2025 by rotation. The country’s non-permanent membership ends by 31 December 2026.

UNSC’s presidency is held by each member for one month, in alphabetical order of their English names. This means that no country can hold the presidency for longer than a single month. This mechanism ensures that all members of the Council have a chance to chair its proceedings and set the agenda.

Pakistan’s presidency assumes significance as tensions with India, post the Pahalgam terror attack, have sunk bilateral relations to a new low.

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey slammed Congress leader Ajay Rai’s ‘Nimbu mirchi’ comment on Rafale fighter jets and accused him of trying to undermine the armed forces’ morale.

“Look at Ajay Rai, UP President of pro-Pakistan Congress Party, who is making headlines in Pakistani newspapers and channels, and understand the conspiracy of Congress Party to break the morale of the army in protest against Modi,” Dubey wrote on X.

The UP Congress president said earlier, “Terrorist activities have increased in the country, and people are suffering from it. Our youth lost their lives in the Pahalgam terror attack… But, this government, which talks a lot, says that they will crush terrorists – they brought Rafale, but they are in their hangars having chilly and lemon hanging in them. When will they take action against terrorists, those who support them, and their backers?”

The National Commission for Women has come out in support of Pahalgam attack victim Vinay Narwal’s wife, Himanshi, saying that trolling a woman for her ideological expression is “not acceptable in any form”.

The Indian Navy officer’s wife, in her first comments following the deadly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, appealed to the masses not to have hatred towards Muslims or Kashmiris.

Permanent Representative of Greece to the United Nations and President of the Security Council, Ambassador Evangelos Sekeris, had expressed readiness to hold a meeting to discuss tensions between India and Pakistan.

“I think this meeting should take place because, as we said, maybe it’s also an opportunity to have views expressed and this might help to diffuse a bit of tension,” Sekeris had said.

“We are in close contact…but this is something which might happen, I would say, sooner rather than later. We will see, we are preparing,” he added.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told his Pakistani counterpart on Sunday that Moscow is willing to act to “a political settlement” of escalating tensions between Pakistan and India if the two countries mutually desire it.

“It was stressed that Russia is ready to act for a political settlement of the situation resulting from the act of terrorism of April 22 in the Pahalgam area of the Kashmir valley, in the event of a mutual desire on the part of Islamabad and New Delhi,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on Telegram.

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will hold “closed consultations” on Monday after Pakistan, a non-permanent member, requested the same to discuss escalating tensions with India after the Pahalgam terror attack.

Apart from the five veto-wielding permanent members – China, France, Russia, UK and the US – the 10 non-permanent members in the Council are Algeria, Denmark, Greece, Guyana, Pakistan, Panama, South Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia and Somalia.

After India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan, authorities are expected to swiftly complete all technical requirements for the proposed Sawalkot project—likely to be the largest project—on the river Chenab in Ramban and Udhampur districts in Jammu and Kashmir.

“The plans to create additional power generation include projects that will be commissioned at Sawalkot (1,856 MW), Pakal Dul (1,000 MW), Ratle (850 MW) Bursar (800 MW), Kiru (624 MW), Kirthai 1 and 2 (1,320 MW) hydropower projects, which will be fully synchronisable with the national grid,” an official told HT.

The project is part of plans to create nearly 12 gigawatts (GW) of additional hydropower from new projects on the Indus rivers.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday suggested “taking action” against Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi for his alleged ties to Pakistan, even as his government arrested 40 people from the state for ‘supporting’ Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack.

“If we can arrest 40 persons who talked in support of Pakistan, then we can take action against Gaurav Gogoi for his Pakistan visit. Gaurav Gogoi is not God. Gaurav Gogoi should have answered whether he had visited Pakistan or not. Whether he changed his children’s citizenship by consulting with his children or made the decision himself. Why did his wife travel to Pakistan 19 times? If he doesn’t give the answer, then Himanta Biswa Sarma knows very well how to get the answer,” Sarma said.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi on Sunday condemned the alleged online abuse targeting the wife of the Navy personnel killed in the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.

“In the Pahalgam terror attack, a young Navy Man was shot dead, today his young wife is being maligned, character assassinated, abused, trolled and hated upon because she asked for justice over hate,” Chaturvedi wrote on X.

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