“HEINOUS”
India and Pakistan have long accused each other of backing forces to destabilise the other, and New Delhi says Islamabad backs the gunmen behind the insurgency.
Islamabad denies the allegation, saying it only supports Kashmir’s struggle for self-determination
Pakistan’s foreign ministry on Wednesday offered its “condolences to the near ones of the deceased”.
After India’s diplomatic measures, Pakistan said it would convene its National Security Committee, composed of senior civil and military officials, and summoned only in cases of external threat or major attack.
On Wednesday, smears of blood could still be seen on the grass where the killings took place as forensic investigators searched for evidence.
A tour guide told AFP he had carried some of the wounded away on horseback.
Waheed, who gave only one name, said he saw several men lying dead on the ground, while a witness who requested anonymity said the attackers were “clearly sparing women”.
India has an estimated 500,000 soldiers permanently deployed in the territory but fighting has eased since Modi’s government revoked Kashmir’s limited autonomy in 2019.
The killings came a day after Modi met US Vice President JD Vance in New Delhi.
The deadliest previous attack on civilians was in March 2000 when 36 Indians were killed on the eve of a visit by then-US president Bill Clinton.
The worst attack in recent years was in Pulwama in February 2019 when insurgents rammed a car packed with explosives into a police convoy, killing 40 and wounding at least 35 others.
The attack on Tuesday sparked widespread outrage.
US President Donald Trump called Modi to offer “full support to India to bring to justice the perpetrators of this heinous attack”.
China, which neighbours the troubled region, offered its “sincere sympathies” to the families of those killed.
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