India lowered relations with Pakistan after attacking dozens of casualties in Kashmir
India today has announced a series of measures to reduce their diplomatic relations with Pakistan – a day after armed attackers killed 26 people in a popular Kashmir area in Kashmir – the worst attack on civilians in the area for nearly two decades, Reuters reported.
India’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs Vikram Missri said at a press conference that the cross -border ties of the attackers had been « exposed » to a special security cabinet meeting, after which it was decided to take action against Pakistan.
Defense Advisers at the Pakistani Supreme Commission in Delhi (diplomatic missions of the countries within the Community of Nations – ed.) Were declared a persona non grata and were asked to leave, Missri said, adding that the total number of the Indian Supreme Commission in Islamabad would be reduced from 55 to 30.
The main border point between the two countries was also closed, and Pakistani citizens with special visas are not allowed to travel to India.
At least 17 people were injured in yesterday’s firing in Phalam in the picturesque Himalayan region of Jamu and Kashmir, Reuters recalls.
Among the killed are 25 Indians and one Nepalese, police said. It is the worst attack on civilians in India than the Mumbai shootings in 2008 and put an end to relative calm in Kashmir, where tourism flourished after the anti-Indian unrest has weakened in recent years.
The poorly known armed group « Kashmir Resistance » took responsibility for the attack on a message on social networks. She expressed dissatisfaction that more than 85,000 « outsiders » had settled in the region, which caused a « demographic change ».
Tourists died in Kashmir in an attack by extremists
According to Indian security services, the Kashmir Resistance, also known as the Resistance Front, acts undercover as part of the Pakistani armed organizations « Lashkar is Taiba » and « Hezbol Mujahidin ».
Pakistan denied the allegations that he maintained violence in Kashmir and said he was only moral, political and diplomatic support to the rebels there.
Meanwhile, Indian media today reported that about 1,500 people had been arrested in connection with yesterday’s attack and would be questioned about relationships with the attackers, DPA notes.
Defense Minister Raj Nat Singh assured that « the accused will soon face a strong and clear answer. »
The government describes the indiscriminate shooting against tourists as a terrorist act.
The search for armed attackers today has intensified, and the army and police are performing a joint operation in Jamu and Kashmir. Kashmir police have spread portraits of alleged attackers to help them search.
Rebel groups in the Indian part of Kashmir, which is inhabited mainly by Muslims, are fighting for independence from India and uniting with Pakistan, DPA recalls.
