India鈥檚 defence minister vowed on Wednesday a swift response to those who carried out and planned the Kashmir region鈥檚 worst attack on civilians in years.
鈥楾hose responsible and behind such an act will very soon hear our response, loud and clear,鈥� Rajnath Singh said in a speech in New Delhi, a day after gunmen killed 26 men at a tourist hotspot in the contested Himalayan region.
鈥榃e won鈥檛 just reach those people who carried out the attack. We will also reach out to those who planned this from behind the scenes on our land.鈥�
Singh did not identify those he believes are responsible for the killings, but said that 鈥業ndia鈥檚 government will take every step that may be necessary and appropriate鈥�.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack in the Muslim-majority region where rebels have waged an insurgency since 1989.
They are seeking independence or a merger with Pakistan, which controls a smaller part of the Kashmir region and, like India, claims it in full.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi has pledged that those responsible for the 鈥榟einous act鈥� will 鈥榖e brought to justice鈥�.
Modi is set to hold an emergency cabinet meeting with top security chiefs later on Wednesday.
鈥楾heir evil agenda will never succeed,鈥� Modi said in a statement shortly after the attack. 鈥極ur resolve to fight terrorism is unshakable and it will get even stronger.鈥�
Nuclear-armed arch-rivals India and Pakistan have long accused each other of backing forces to destabilise the other, and New Delhi says Islamabad backs the gunmen behind the insurgency.
Islamabad denies the allegation, saying it only supports Kashmir鈥檚 struggle for self-determination.
Pakistan鈥檚 foreign ministry on Wednesday offered its 鈥榗ondolences to the near ones of the deceased鈥�.
Analyst Michael Kugelman said the attack posed a 鈥榲ery serious risk of a new crisis between India and Pakistan, and probably the most serious risk of a crisis since the brief military conflict that happened in 2019鈥�.
Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah said the attack had been 鈥榤uch larger than anything we鈥檝e seen directed at civilians鈥� in recent years.
A hospital list verified by police recorded 26 men who were killed on Tuesday afternoon when gunmen burst out of forests at a popular tourist spot in Pahalgam and raked crowds of visitors with automatic weapons.
All those killed were listed as residents of India except one man from Nepal.
In a separate incident in Kashmir at Baramulla on Wednesday, the army killed two people after a 鈥榟eavy exchange of fire鈥�, saying the gunmen were part of an 鈥榠nfiltration bid鈥� crossing the contested frontier from Pakistan.
AFP journalists near the site of the Pahalgam attack reported a heavy deployment of security forces. Pahalgam is popular with tourists in summer and is about 90 kilometres by road from the city of Srinagar.
Smears of blood could still be seen on the grass where the killings took place as forensic investigators searched for evidence.
A tour guide said he had carried some of the wounded away on horseback.
Waheed, who gave only one name, said he saw several men lying dead on the ground, while a witness who requested anonymity said the attackers were 鈥榗learly sparing women鈥�.
The killings came a day after Modi met US vice president JD Vance in New Delhi.
The deadliest previous attack on civilians was in March 2000 when 36 Indians were killed on the eve of a visit by then-US president Bill Clinton.
US president Donald Trump called Modi to offer 鈥榝ull support to India to bring to justice the perpetrators of this heinous attack鈥�.
China, which neighbours the troubled region, offered its 鈥榮incere sympathies鈥� to the families of those killed.
India has an estimated 5,00,000 soldiers permanently deployed in the territory but fighting has eased since Modi鈥檚 government revoked Kashmir鈥檚 limited autonomy in 2019.
Authorities in recent years have promoted the mountainous region as a holiday destination, both for skiing in winter and to escape the sweltering summer heat elsewhere in India.
Around 3.5 million tourists visited Kashmir in 2024, mostly domestic visitors.
The worst attack in recent years was in Pulwama in February 2019 when insurgents rammed a car packed with explosives into a police convoy, killing 40 and wounding at least 35 others.