India is bracing for a potential military confrontation with Pakistan after a deadly terrorist attack on tourists in India-administered Kashmir left 26 people dead, triggering a wave of national outrage and sharpening regional tensions. The assault – described by authorities as the deadliest attack on civilians in the region in recent years – claimed the lives of 25 Indian nationals and one foreigner. While no group has claimed responsibility, Indian officials have pointed fingers across the border, reigniting old hostilities between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
Addressing a rally in Bihar, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking unusually in English, delivered a fiery speech signalling retaliation. ‘India will identify, trace, and punish every terrorist and their backers. We will pursue them to the ends of the Earth,’ he declared, amid chants of nationalist slogans. Bihar is due to hold state elections later this year.
Within India, political rhetoric has turned sharply nationalistic
In the immediate aftermath, India expelled Pakistani diplomats, suspended a World Bank-brokered water-sharing agreement under the Indus Waters Treaty, and closed a key border crossing.
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