Pahalgam attack: India briefs foreign envoys for 2nd consecutive day

New Delhi | India on Friday briefed New Delhi-based envoys of around 45 nations on the dastardly Pahalgam terror attack and its link to cross-border terrorism, people familiar with the matter said.

New Delhi apprised the envoys about various aspects of Tuesday's terror attack that killed 26 innocent people and India's firm policy of "zero tolerance" against terrorism, they said.

The envoys were briefed in two batches by senior officials of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

Diplomats from Latin America, Africa and West Asia attended the briefings, the people cited above said.

On Thursday, India briefed senior diplomats of most of the G20 countries and several of its close strategic partners on the terror attack.

While Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri held the briefing on Thursday, MEA's Secretary (West) Tanmaya Lal and Arun Kumar Chatterjee, Secretary in the Overseas Indian Affairs division held the interactions on Friday.

In a related development, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held separate meetings with Israeli envoy Reuven Azar, Argentina's ambassador Mariano Caucino, Egypt's Kamel Zayed and Nepalese envoy Shankar P Sharma.

"Appreciated Israel's steadfast support in combating cross-border terrorism," the minister said in a social media post.

Following his meeting with Sharma, Jaishankar said he conveyed condolences to the ambassador on the death of a Nepali national in the Pahalgam terror attack.

India on Wednesday announced a raft of punitive measures against Pakistan including expulsion of Pakistani military attaches, suspension of the Indus Water Treaty of 1960 and immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit post in view of cross-border links to the terror attack.

In its response, Pakistan on Thursday decided to shut its airspace to all Indian airlines and suspended trade with New Delhi including through third countries.

Pakistan also rejected India's suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty and said any measures to stop the flow of water belonging to Pakistan under the pact will be seen as an "act of war".

Amid nationwide outrage over the terror strike, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the killers of Pahalgam will be pursued "to the ends of the earth" as he promised to "identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backers".

In an address at Bihar's Madhubani, Modi vowed to punish terrorists behind the strike and said India's spirit will never be broken by terrorism.

"Friends, today from the soil of Bihar, I say to the whole world India will identify, track, and punish every terrorist and their backers," he said.

"We will pursue them to the ends of the earth. India's spirit will never be broken by terrorism. Terrorism will not go unpunished," he added.

"Every effort will be made to ensure that justice is done. The entire nation is firm in this resolve. Everyone who believes in humanity is with us. I thank the people of various countries and their leaders who have stood with us in these times," he said.