Pahalgam attack: Massive pro-India protest in UK, China backs rattled ally Pak

Hindustan Times

28-04-2025

Days after 26 innocent people lost their lives in the ghastly terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, nationwide outrage demanding justice for the victims continues.
Candlelight marches and protests are taking place across the country against the April 22 terror attack in the Kashmir Valley. The security agencies have demolished the houses of three more terrorists, as part of their crackdown in the Valley.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken over the Pahalgam terror probe, and has intensified its search for evidence and questioning eyewitnesses to unravel the terror conspiracy.
Pahalgam attack updates
1. A large number of Indian community and diaspora representatives descended upon the High Commission of India in London to counter a Pakistani demonstration that was called to protest against what was branded as 'Indian propaganda'. Chanting "Bharat Mata ki Jai" and "Vande Mataram" and waving the Indian Tricolour, the pro-Indian demonstrators outnumbered the smaller group of British Pakistanis across the road from India House on Sunday evening, PTI reported.
2. Union minister Jitendra Singh said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is closely monitoring the situation in response to the Pahalgam attack.
'After the Pahalgam incident, Prime Minister Modi has assured the countrymen. He is monitoring the situation. Whatever decisions the Government of India takes, based on inputs from the Home Ministry, Defence Ministry, and Foreign Ministry, they are not interpreted publicly,' Singh told ANI.
3. China has once again backed its close ally Pakistan amid its tensions with India following the Pahalgam attack. During a phone call with his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar, Wang said China is closely following developments after the terror attack and backs an 'impartial investigation' into the incident, the statement from China's foreign ministry said.
4. Two Pakistani nationals were arrested on Sunday in Chhattisgarh's Raigarh district for allegedly obtaining voter ID cards and other Indian documents by furnishing false information, police told PTI. Iftikhar Sheikh (29) and Arnish Sheikh (25), originally from Karachi, possess valid Pakistani passports and Long Term Visas (LTV). They were currently staying in Kodatarai village under the Jutemill police station area.
5. According to a PTI report, a youth was arrested for allegedly uploading a poster on social media on the Pahalgam terror attack and the demolition of a 'mazar' inside Government Doon Hospital, Dehradun carried out by the local administration, officials said. The youth allegedly threatened to demolish a temple in a Facebook post and is accused of making an "objectionable" remark against the Pahalgam attack.
6. The Indian Navy on Sunday said its warships have successfully carried out multiple anti-ship firings, revalidating their readiness for long-range precision "offensive" strikes. "Indian Navy ships undertook successful multiple anti-ship firings to revalidate and demonstrate readiness of platforms, systems and crew for long range precision offensive strike," the Indian Navy said in a brief statement.
7. The BJP slammed Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's "no need for war" with Pakistan comments to claim that the Congress has been unmasked within days of extending support to the central government on the Pahalgam attack issue. Some leaders of the Congress are speaking the language of Pakistan, BJP's national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said, adding that several leaders of the opposition INDIA bloc are drawing praise on Pakistani news channels.
8. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi attacked Pakistan over the Pahalgam terror attack, saying that they cannot claim to be a nuclear power and kill innocents without consequences. 'Pakistan always talks about being a nuclear power; they need to remember that if they enter a country and kill innocent people, that country will not sit quietly. No matter the government, by killing our people on our land, and targeting them based on religion, what 'deen' are you talking about?... You have acted like ISIS,' ANI quoted Owaisi as saying at a rally in Maharashtra's Parbhani.
9. The tensions along the Line of Control (LoC) as Pakistan violated ceasefire for the third straight day. The Indian troops responded firmly to the latest night-long provocation and targeted Pakistan's posts facing the Tutmari Gali and Rampur sectors in north Kashmir.
10. A total of 537 Pakistani nationals have left India through the Attari border over the past three days after the deadline for short-term visa holders ended on Sunday, an official told ANI.
'At least 850 Indian Nationals have returned to India in the past three days. He added that on Sunday alone, 237 Pakistani nationals returned to their country, while 116 Indian nationals came back,' Arun Pal, a protocol officer at the Attari Border, said.
(With ANI, PTI inputs)