April 23, 2025 – Following the deadly carnage in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir, yesterday, April 22, in which at least 26 civillians were killed by terrorists, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi cut short his visit to Saudi Arabia and returned to Delhi early this morning. He held an emergency meeting at Delhi airport with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, External Affars Minister S Jaishankar and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.

PM Modi was on a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia and had left for Jeddah yesterday morning. This was the first visit to Jeddah by an Indian Prime Minister in 40 years.

Reports say PM Modi’s Indian Air Force Boeing 777-300 avoided Pakistan airspace on his return to Delhi. The aircraft took a wide detour and did not cross Pak airspace.

The deadly massacre on April 22 is one of the worst terrorist attacks on civilians since the 26/11 Mumbai attack. It is being described as worse than the Uri and Pulwama attacks because it targeted civilians. Reports say that around five to six terrorists dressed in military fatigues opened fired indiscriminately in Baisaran meadow, Anantnag district, killing at least 26 people, including two foreign nationals, and mostly tourists.

Intelligence sources suspect that the attack was carried under the direction of Saifullah Kasuri, a top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander and aide to the wanted terrorist Hafiz Saeed. The attackers are believed to be members of The Resistance Front, a shadow group of the banned terror outfit LeT.

PM Modi said in a post on X, "Those behind this heinous act will be brought to justice... they will not be spared."

Meanwhile, soon after the attack yesterday, Home Minister Amit Shah rushed to Srinagar to oversee the situation. This morning he paid floral tributes to the deceased and then later met their families.

Security has been significantly heightened in the region following the deadly attack. As per reports by tourists in Srinagar, paramilitary and police forces appear to be everywhere. Checkpoints have been reinforced and surveillance stepped up.

Security forces have launched a massive manhunt in the area to flush out the perpetrators. Border securty as been beefed up, too, to intercept infiltrators. Two terrorists were killed in an encounter with security forces this morning while they were attempting to infiltrate through Sarjeevan at Baramulla's Uri Nala.

Local people have strongly condemned the horrific incident. Political and civil society groups have called a bandh today and markets across Jammu are shut.

With Media Inputs