The 2019 Pulwama attack occurred on 14 February 2019, when a convoy of vehicles carrying Indian security personnel on the

Jammu–Srinagar National Highway The Jammu–Srinagar National Highway is the northernmost segment of NH 44 (formerly NH 1A before the renumbering of all national highways). It runs from Srinagar in the Kashmir Valley southward to the city of Jammu. It is one of the two ...

was attacked by a vehicle-borne

suicide bomber A suicide attack is any violent attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have occurred throughout histor ...

at Lethapora in the

Pulwama district The Pulwama district is located to the south of Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir. Its district headquarters are situated in the city of Pulwama. It is located in the central part of the Kashmir Valley. Administration In 1979 Anantnag d ...

of the erstwhile

state of Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir was a region formerly administered by India as a state from 1952 to 2019, constituting the southern and southeastern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has been the subject of a dispute between India, Pakistan and ...

. The attack killed 40 Indian

Central Reserve Police Force The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is a federal police organisation in India under the authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs (India), Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) of the Government of India. It is one among the Central Armed Police F ...

(CRPF) personnel as well as the perpetrator—Adil Ahmad Dar—who was a local

Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to: * People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir * Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley * Kashmiri language, their language People with the name * Kashmiri Saikia Baruah ...

youth from the Pulwama district.Pulwama Attack 2019, everything about J&K terror attack on CRPF by terrorist Adil Ahmed Dar, Jaish-eMohammad
, India Today, 16 February 2019. The responsibility for the attack was claimed by the

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

-based Islamist terrorist group,

Jaish-e-Mohammed Jaish-e-Mohammed ( ur, , literally "The Army of Muhammad", abbreviated as JeM) is a Pakistan-based: "The JEM is a Pakistan-based, militant Islamic group founded by Maulana Masood Azhar in March 2000." Deobandi: "Deobandis like Masood Azha ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

blamed neighbouring

for the attack, while the latter condemned the attack and denied having any connections to it. The attack dealt a severe blow to

India–Pakistan relations India–Pakistan relations are the bilateral ties between the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The two countries have a complex and largely hostile relationship that is rooted in a multitude of historical and political e ...

, consequently resulting in the 2019 India–Pakistan military standoff. Subsequently, Indian investigations identified 19 accused. By August 2021, the main accused along with six others had been killed, and seven had been arrested.

Background

Kashmir is a disputed territory, claimed both by India and Pakistan with both countries administering part of the territory. Pakistan has sought to gain control of Indian-administered Kashmir. An insurgency began to proliferate in Indian-administered Kashmir in the late 1980s. Pakistan provided the insurgency with material support. Since 1989, about 70,000 people have been killed in the uprising and the Indian crackdown. According to ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'', unrest in Kashmir grew in 2016 after India killed a popular militant leader,

Burhan Wani Burhan Wani (19 September 1994 – 8 July 2016) was a commander of Hizbul Mujahideen, an Islamist militant organization and insurgent group of the Kashmir conflict. He had become a popular figure amongst the local Kashmiri populace, having d ...

. A rising number of young locals from

Indian administered Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

have joined the militancy. Many sources state that the majority of militants in Kashmir are now local, not foreign. In 2018 alone, the death toll included 260 militants, 160 civilians and 150 government forces. Since 2015, Pakistan-based militants in Kashmir have increasingly taken to high-profile suicide attacks against the Indian security forces. In July 2015, three gunmen attacked a bus, and police station in

Gurdaspur Gurdaspur is a city in the Indian state of Punjab, between the rivers Beas and Ravi. It houses the administrative headquarters of Gurdaspur District and is in the geographical centre of the district, which shares a border with Pakistan. The ...

. Early in 2016, four to six gunmen attacked the

Pathankot Air Force Station Pathankot Airport is a regional airport, 3 km from the nearest city Pathankot and 7 km from Pathankot Railway Station Pathankot Junction railway station (station code: PTK) is a located in Pathankot district in the Indian state ...

. Ankit Panda (19 September 2016)
Gurdaspur, Pathankot, and Now Uri: What Are India's Options?
''The Diplomat''. . In February and June 2016, the militants killed nine and eight security personnel respectively in

Pampore Pampore (), known as Pampar () or Panpar () in Kashmiri, is a historical town situated on the eastern side of the Jhelum River on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway in the Pulwama district of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir ...

. In September 2016, four assailants attacked an

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

brigade headquarters in

Uri Uri may refer to: Places * Canton of Uri, a canton in Switzerland * Úri, a village and commune in Hungary * Uri, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province * Uri, Jammu and Kashmir, a town in India * Uri (island), an island off Malakula Islan ...

killing 19 soldiers. On 31 December 2017, the Commando Training Centre at Lethpora was also attacked by militants killing five security personnel. These attacks took place in the vicinity of the

Jammu Srinagar National Highway Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of , ...

Attack

On 14 February 2019, a convoy of 78 vehicles transporting more than 2,500

(CRPF) personnel from

Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi Ri ...

to Srinagar was travelling on

National Highway 44 The following highways are numbered 44. Australia * Great Western Highway, Parramatta Road (Sydney) * Captain Cook Highway - Queensland State Route 44 (Regional) * Greensborough Highway Canada * Alberta Highway 44 * Manitoba Highway 44 * On ...

. The convoy had left Jammu around 03:30

IST Ist or IST may refer to: Information Science and Technology * Bachelor's or Master's degree in Information Science and Technology * Graduate School / Faculty of Information Science and Technology, Hokkaido University, Japan * Graduate School ...

and was carrying a large number of personnel due to the highway having been shut down for two days prior. The convoy was scheduled to reach its destination before sunset. At

Lethpora Lethapora, also known as Lethpora and Lalitpur, is a village in the Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is located in the Pampore tehsil of district Pulwama in Kashmir valley. It has a long history as it was named after a king ...

near

Awantipora Awantipora () or Avantipur or Aavantipur, known as Woontpor () in Kashmiri, is a town, just opposite of Pulwama city, on the banks of the river Jhelum in the Pulwama district of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is on the J ...

, around 15:15 IST, a bus carrying security personnel was rammed by a car carrying explosives. It caused a blast which killed 40 CRPF personnel of the 76th Battalion and injured many others. The injured were moved to the army base hospital in Srinagar. Pakistan-based militant group

claimed responsibility for the attack. They also released a video of the assailant Adil Ahmad Dar, a 22-year-old from

Kakapora Kakapora is a tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place t ...

who had joined the group a year earlier. Dar's family had last seen him in March 2018, when he left his house on a bicycle one day and never returned. Pakistan denied any involvement, though Jaish-e-Mohammed's leader, Masood Azhar, is known to operate in the country. It is the deadliest terror attack on India's state security personnel in Kashmir since 1989.

Perpetrator

The perpetrator was identified as Adil Ahmad Dar, a 22-year old from

. According to Dar's parents, Dar became radicalized after he was beaten by Indian police. Between September 2016 and March 2018, Adil Dar was reportedly arrested six times by Indian authorities.Anil Raina (17 February 2019)
Pulwama bomber was detained six times in less than two years
''Mumbai Mirror.'' . However, each time he was released without any charges.

Investigation

The

National Investigation Agency The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is the primary counter-terrorist task force of India. The agency is empowered to deal with the investigation of terror related crimes across states without special permission from the states under written ...

(NIA) dispatched a 12-member team to probe the attack, working with the

Jammu and Kashmir Police The Jammu and Kashmir Police or JKP is the law enforcement agency of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory). JKP was established in 1873 and has primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within Jammu and Kashmir in India. Hist ...

. Initial investigations suggested the car was carrying more than of explosives, including of

RDX RDX (abbreviation of "Research Department eXplosive") or hexogen, among other names, is an organic compound with the formula (O2N2CH2)3. It is a white solid without smell or taste, widely used as an explosive. Chemically, it is classified as a ...

, a

high explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An exp ...

, and

ammonium nitrate Ammonium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is a white crystalline salt consisting of ions of ammonium and nitrate. It is highly soluble in water and hygroscopic as a solid, although it does not form hydrates. It is ...

. Lt Gen Hooda said that the explosives might have been stolen from a construction site. He initially said that it was not possible that they were smuggled from across the border, but later said that he could not rule it out.

was able to establish and confirm the identity of suicide bomber as DNA samples from "meagre fragments of the car" used in suicide attack matched with Adil Ahmad Dar's father. However, even after a year of investigation, NIA was unable to trace the source of explosives. The charge-sheet filed by the NIA in August 2020 named 19 accused.

Aftermath

Candle Light March organised in Mehsana Gujarat in wake of 2019 Pulwama Attack

State funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

s of security personnel killed in the attack were held in their respective native places. The government of Punjab announced

ex gratia (; also spelled ''ex-gratia'') is Latin for "by favour", and is most often used in a legal context. When something has been done ''ex gratia'', it has been done voluntarily, out of kindness or grace. In law, an ''ex gratia payment'' is a payme ...

compensation of each to the families of the killed security personnel from the state and a government job to the next of kin. India revoked Pakistan's most favoured nation status. The customs duty on all Pakistani goods imported to India were raised to 200%.PTI (16 February 2019)
Pulwama terror attack: India hikes customs duty to 200% on all goods imported from Pakistan
''The Times of India''. . The government of India urged the

Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering The Financial Action Task Force (on Money Laundering) (FATF), also known by its French name, ''Groupe d'action financière'' (GAFI), is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1989 on the initiative of the G7 to develop policies to combat mo ...

(FATF) to put Pakistan on the blacklist. The FATF decided to keep it on the 'grey list' and gave Pakistan time till October 2019 to comply with the 27 conditions it had laid down in June 2018, when it was put on the 'grey list', with an attending caveat. If Pakistan failed to comply, it would be added to the blacklist. On 17 February, the state administration revoked security provisions for separatist leaders. Protests, bandhs and candle light marches were held across India. There were violent protests in Jammu resulting in a curfew being imposed starting 14 February. The Indian community in the United Kingdom held protests outside the Pakistan High Commission in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. A delegation of Indian doctors cancelled their visit to Pakistan for the 13th Association of Anaesthesiologists Congress, organised by the

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of states in South Asia. Its member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan ...

, in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

on 7 March. Indian broadcaster

DSport Eurosport India (formerly known as DSport) is an Indian sports channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Asia-Pacific. It was launched as ''DSport'' in February 2017 with a partnership between Discovery India and Lex Sportel. In January 2020, Lex ...

said it would no longer broadcast Pakistan Super League cricket matches. The

All Indian Cine Workers Association All Indian Cine Workers Association (AICWA) is a non-profit organization registered at Mumbai. Founded by Suresh Shyamlal Gupta. AICWA works for security and safety of cine workers and artists of Indian film industry. It was formed for the bett ...

announced a ban on Pakistani actors and artists in the

Indian film industry The Cinema of India consists of motion pictures produced in India, which had a large effect on world cinema since the late 20th century. Major centers of film production across the country include Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Ko ...

, and stated that strong action would be taken on any organisation violating it. The Indian Film and Television Directors Association also announced a ban on Pakistani artists in films and music produced in India; the president of the organisation threatened to "vandalise" the sets of any Indian film production with Pakistani artists. On 20 February 2019, Pakistani prisoner Shakarullah, who was serving a life term in India's Jaipur Central Jail under

Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act is an Indian law aimed at prevention of unlawful activities associations in India. Its main objective was to make powers available for dealing with activities directed against the integrity and sovereignty o ...

, was stabbed and beaten to death by four other inmates. India claimed that Shakarullah was allegedly killed in a brawl among the inmates over television volume. Pakistan claimed that he was killed in retaliation of the Pulwama incident.

Gunfight with the militants

Following intelligence inputs, in the early morning hours of 18 February, a joint team comprising 55

Rashtriya Rifles The Rashtriya Rifles (RR; ) is a counter-insurgency force in India, formed in 1990, to specifically serve in the Jammu and Kashmir region. They also maintain public order by drawing powers from the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Po ...

, CRPF and Special Operations Group of India killed two terrorists and two supporters in an anti-terrorism encounter operation in the ensuing manhunt for the perpetrators in

Pulwama Pulwama (known as Panwangam in antiquity, and later as Pulgam) is a City and notified area council in the Pulwama district of the Indian-administered territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is located approximately south of the summer capital of ...

. One of them, Abdul Rasheed Ghazi alias Kamran, was identified as a Pakistani national and was considered the mastermind of the attack and a commander of the terrorist group Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM). In addition, local JeM recruit Hilal Ahmed, along with two sympathisers who housed Ghazi and Ahmed to evade capture, were also shot dead in the encounter. Four security personnel were killed in the gunfight.

Anti-Kashmiri backlash

students living in other parts of India faced a backlash after the attack, including violence and harassment, and eviction from their homes. In response, many Indians offered to house Kashmiris who may have been evicted. It was reported that number of Kashmiris fleeing from the rest of India had reached "hundreds". Jammu and Kashmir Students Organisation reported that 97% of Kashmiri students in

Dehradun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative As ...

had been evacuated. Two Indian colleges in Dehradun announced that no new Kashmiri students will receive admission. One of those colleges, Alpine College, suspended its dean, who is a Kashmiri, after some groups called for him to be fired.

Tathagata Roy Tathagata Roy (born 14 September 1945) is an Indian politician who served as the Governor of Tripura from 2015 to 2018 and the Governor of Meghalaya from August 2018 to the end of his term in August 2020. He was the 6th president of West Ben ...

, the governor of the Indian state

Meghalaya Meghalaya (, or , meaning "abode of clouds"; from Sanskrit , "cloud" + , "abode") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the state of As ...

, tweeted support for a

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...

of "everything Kashmiri".

Union Minister The Union Council of Ministers Article 58 of the ''Constitution of India'' is the principal executive organ of the Government of India, which is responsible for being the senior decision making body of the executive branch. It is chaired by t ...

Ravi Shankar Prasad Ravi Shankar Prasad (born 30 August 1954) is an Indian politician and lawyer, from the Bharatiya Janata Party. A Member of Parliament since 2000, first in the Rajya Sabha (2000-2019) and then in the Lok Sabha (since 2019), Prasad has served as Un ...

disagreed with this view. A Kashmiri merchant was beaten in

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

; the attack was condemned by

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

chief minister

Mamata Banerjee Mamata Banerjee (; born 5 January 1955) is an Indian politician who is serving as the eighth and current List of chief ministers of West Bengal, chief minister of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal since 20 ...

. Kashmir police chief Dilbagh Singh said they had asked affected states to protect students." Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister

Omar Abdullah Omar Abdullah (; born 10 March 1970) is an Indian politician and former Chief Minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. He became the 11th and the youngest Chief Minister of the State of Jammu and Kashmir, after forming a governme ...

met with

Rajnath Singh Rajnath Singh (; born 10 July 1951) is an Indian politician serving as the Defence Minister of India. He is currently the Deputy Leader of the House Lok Sabha. He is the former President of Bharatiya Janata Party. He has previously served as ...

seeking assistance.

Balakot airstrike

On 26 February, twelve Mirage 2000 jets of the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

crossed the Line of Control and dropped bombs into Balakot, Pakistan. India claimed that it attacked a Jaish-e-Mohammed training camp and killed a large number of terrorists, reported to be between 300 and 350. Pakistan claimed that they quickly scrambled jets to intercept the IAF jets, who dropped their payloads to quickly return over the Line of Control.

India-Pakistan standoff

On 27 February,

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

conducted an

airstrike An airstrike, air strike or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighters, heavy bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters and drones. The offic ...

into Jammu and Kashmir in retaliation for the Indian airstrike the day before. Both Pakistan and India agreed that no damage was caused by Pakistan's airstrike. However, in an ensuing dogfight between Indian and Pakistani jets, an Indian

MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-21; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nickn ...

was shot down over Pakistan and its pilot captured. Pakistan released the pilot on 1 March.

Pakistan arrests suspects

On 5 March, Pakistan arrested 44 members of various groups, including the Jaish-e-Muhammad. Some of those arrested had been named by India in a dossier it gave to Pakistan in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack.Asghar, Naseem.
Son of Masood Azhar among 44 arrested
," ''

The Express Tribune ''The Express Tribune'' is a daily English-language newspaper based in Pakistan. It is the flagship publication of the '' Daily Express'' media group. It is Pakistan's only internationally affiliated newspaper in a partnership with the ''Interna ...

''. Pakistan said those arrested will be held for at least 14 days, and if India provided further evidence they would be prosecuted. Among those arrested were relatives of JeM leader Masood Azhar, including his son Hamad Azhar and his brother Abdul Rauf.

Arrests and operations in India

By August 2021, Indian security forces had killed seven of the accused, including Saifullah, while seven had been arrested.

Reactions

India and Pakistan

Indian

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...

condemned the attack and expressed solidarity with the victims and their families. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh assured that a strong response will be given to the terror attack. India blamed Pakistan for the attack.Slater, Joanna; Masih, Niha (15 February 2019)
Modi vows action after dozens die in deadliest attack in Indian-held Kashmir in 3 decades
''The Washington Post''. ''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

'' has said that the involvement of the Jaish-e-Mohammed in the bombing "directly links" Pakistan to the attack, while also pointing out that Jaish-e-Mohammed had attacked Pakistani military targets in the past.Viewpoint: How far might India go to 'punish' Pakistan?
, BBC News, 15 February 2019 It is widely accepted among security analysts that Jaish-e-Mohammed is the creation of Pakistan's

Inter-Services Intelligence The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI; ur, , bayn khadamatiy mukhabarati) is the premier intelligence agency of Pakistan. It is responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing any information from around the world that is deemed relevant ...

. Pakistan banned the group in 2002, but it has resurfaced under different names and retains ISI's support. The ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' questioned the nature of the link to Pakistan, pointing out that the bomber came from Indian-administered Kashmir and the explosives may also have been locally procured. The Indian Finance Minister

Arun Jaitley Arun Jaitley (28 December 1952 – 24 August 2019) was an Indian politician and attorney. A member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Jaitley served as the Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs of the Government of India from 2014 to 2019. Jai ...

has said that India would completely isolate Pakistan in the diplomatic community. Pakistan denied the allegation of a link to the attack, and Pakistani foreign minister

Shah Mahmood Qureshi Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Hussain Qureshi ( ur, ; born 22 June 1956) is a Pakistani politician who served as the 29th Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2018 to 2022. He previously held the post from 2008 to 2011. He has been a member of the Nationa ...

condemned the bombing.

Fawad Chaudhry Fawad Ahmed Hussain Chaudhry (born 7 April 1970) is a Pakistani politician and a senior member of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, who was Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, in office since 14 April 2021 to 10 April 2022. Previously ...

, Pakistan's federal information minister, said that Pakistan was taking action against Jaish-e-Muhammad and that Pakistan would be able to assist India in taking action against terrorist groups. ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...

'', a Pakistani newspaper, called the assailant a "freedom fighter" who eliminated members of an "occupying force". Pakistan and India both recalled their ambassadors for "consultations" in a tit-for-tat move. On 19 February 2019, Pakistani Prime Minister

Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...

said that providing safe haven to terrorists was not in Pakistan's interest. He asked for proof of Pakistani involvement and warned India that any military response would be met with retaliation. Indian Ministry of External Affairs responded by criticising him for not condemning the attack and not offering any condolences for the victims. It said that claims by Adil Ahmad Dar and Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed was sufficient proof. It said that promises of investigation was unconvincing due to a lack of progress in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

and Pathankot attack investigations. In response to Indian criticism, the newspaper ''

Dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's hori ...

'' pointed out that Pakistani Foreign Minister Qureshi had expressed sympathies with the victims soon after the attack. Following the attack on the Indian territory, the producers of the Indian Hindi films, including ''Notebook'', ''

Kabir Singh ''Kabir Singh'' is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film written and directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga and jointly produced by Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar under T-Series Films and Murad Khetani and Ashwin Varde under Cine1 Studi ...

'' and ''

Satellite Shankar ''Satellite Shankar'' is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language action drama film written and directed by Irfan Kamal. The film starring Sooraj Pancholi and Megha Akash is produced by Cine 1 Studios and SCIPL. The film based on the life of Indian sold ...

'', decided not to release the films in Pakistan. Former Indian cricket players and

Board of Control for Cricket in India The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the national governing body for cricket in India. Its headquarters are situated at Cricket centre, Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The BCCI is the richest governing body of cricket in the world ...

(BCCI) called for the boycott on the 2019 World Cup group match fixture between

and

with raising concerns on banning Pakistan cricket team from playing in the 2019 Cricket World Cup tournament. However, after conducting a press meet in Dubai, the

International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are List of International Cricket Council members, 108 national associations, with 12 List of Internation ...

(ICC) rejected BCCI's statement regarding banning Pakistan from the World Cup and assured that the scheduled match will go ahead as planned despite the ongoing standoff between the two nations. On 8 March 2019, the

India national cricket team The India men's national cricket team, also known as Team India or the Men in Blue, represents India in men's international cricket. It is governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and is a List of International Cricket Cou ...

wore camouflage military caps in tribute to the CRPF personnel killed in the attack during the third ODI against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Ranchi Ranchi (, ) is the capital of the Indian state of Jharkhand. Ranchi was the centre of the Jharkhand movement, which called for a separate state for the tribal regions of South Bihar, northern Odisha, western West Bengal and the eastern area ...

. The players also donated their match fees to the National Defence Fund. The

Pakistan Cricket Board The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is a sports governing body for cricket in Pakistan responsible for controlling and organising all tours and matches undertaken by the Pakistan national cricket team. A member of the International Cricket Coun ...

wrote to the ICC to protest the gesture. The ICC stated that BCCI had asked for, and received, permission to wear the caps.

International community

The

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

condemned the attack and added it would work with India in counterterrorism efforts. It asked Pakistan to stop sheltering terrorists and urged it to cooperate with the investigation and punish those responsible. Pakistan said it was ready to cooperate with such an investigation. A statement from the

US Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other ...

noted that Pakistan-based

(JeM) had claimed responsibility for the attack.

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

, and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

condemned the attack, as did the

United Nations Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-g ...

. China and Turkey also defended Pakistan's efforts to fight terrorism. China placed a temporary block on a

UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...

resolution following the attack, which was backed by all other permanent members of the council, to designate JeM leader Masood Azhar as a global terrorist.

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with India's External Affairs Minister

Sushma Swaraj Sushma Swaraj () (''née'' Sharma; 14 February 1952 – 6 August 2019) was an Indian lawyer, politician, and diplomat who served as the Minister of External Affairs of India in the first Narendra Modi government from 2014 to 2019. She is only ...

and referring to both the 2019 Pulwama attack and the

2019 Khash–Zahedan suicide bombing On February 13, 2019, a suicide bombing on the Khash–Zahedan road in Sistan and Baluchestan Province of Iran killed at least 27 Revolutionary Guards and wounded another 13. It was one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in Iran in years. The Sa ...

, he stated that Iran and India would work together to prevent future attacks.

Legacy

The Indian cricket team paid tribute to the 40 soldiers killed in the Pulwama attack by wearing the camouflage caps instead of the usual sky blue team India cap, during the third

One Day International A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...

match with Australia in

. Pakistan objected to this gesture and Pakistani Information Minister

and Foreign Minister

called the

(ICC) to ban the Indian team for allegedly mixing cricket with politics. After a complaint from the Pakistani Cricket Board, The ICC clarified that the Indian team had requested and was granted permission to wear the camouflage caps as a part of fundraising drive and to pay tribute to the soldiers killed in the attack.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pulwama attack 2019 murders in India February 2019 crimes in Asia February 2019 events in India 2010s in Jammu and Kashmir Mass murder in 2019 Islamic terrorist incidents in 2019 Terrorist incidents in India in 2019 Kashmir conflict Suicide car and truck bombings in India 2019 attack India–Pakistan relations