United Nations, April 26: The Security Council has “condemned in the strongest terms” the Pahalgam terrorist attack and urged all countries to cooperate in bringing all those involved in the massacre, to justice.

The members of the Security Council “stressed that those responsible for these killings should be held accountable, and urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with all relevant authorities in this regard”, Council President Jerome Bonnafont said in a Press statement on Friday.

A front organisation of the Pakistan-based terrorist group Laskhar-e-Tayiba has owned responsibility for the attack.

The statement issued by France’s Permanent Representative Bonnafont who is the Council president for this month, took a broad view of those involved in the massacre by including the financiers and sponsors.

“The members of the Security Council underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of this reprehensible act of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice”, the statement said.

Pakistan, which is on the Council as an elected member, went along with the other members in endorsing the statement, committing itself – at least on paper – to bringing those involved to justice.

A Press statement expresses the consensus of the Council and carries moral authority, while not being legally binding like a resolution.

The statement also shot down the attempts by some in Pakistan to give terrorist attacks a veneer of justification.

“The members of the Security Council reiterated that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed”, it said.

The Council members “reaffirmed the need for all States to combat by all means, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and other obligations under international law, including international human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law, threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts”, the statement added.

Earlier, the spokesperson for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hinted that a diplomatic effort by him may be afoot.

Asked by a reporter, if Guterres would speak to leaders of India and Pakistan, Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said that he hoped to have something to share on that later.

Reiterating the condemnation of the terrorist attacks, Dujarric said, “We again urge both the Government of India and the Government of Pakistan to exercise maximum restraint to ensure the situation does not deteriorate further.”

When a reporter asserted that the possibility that “two nuclear countries” might “go to war” was getting insufficient attention, Dujarric said, “I don’t agree with your comment. We are paying very close attention to the situation between India and Pakistan.”

Islamabad, April 25: Pakistan and India’s decision to shut down the Wagah-Attari border crossing after the deadly Pahalgam terror attack has forced several citizens from both countries to cut short their visit and rush back home.

On Thursday, after both countries announced closure of border crossing and gave a deadline for citizens to leave for their respective countries, at least 28 Pakistanis nationals returned from India while 105 Indian citizens in Pakistan crossed over into India.

A Hindu family from Balochistan’s Sibi was reportedly denied entry into India after the closure of border crossing.

“We were on our way to Indore in Madhya Pradesh to attend a wedding. Seven members of our family were excited to join our relatives in India and take part in the celebrations. But upon reaching Wagah, we learned that the border had been sealed. We will spend the night at Dera Sahib in Lahore and head back home tomorrow,” said Akshay Kumar.

Meanwhile, a Sikh family from India, in Pakistan to attend a wedding, decided to leave for India immediately.

“We had come to Pakistan for a wedding. While the ceremony took place, several important rituals remained. Once we heard the border was closed, we decided to return immediately,” said Raminder Singh, an Indian national.

A Hindu family from Ghotki in Pakistan’s Sindh province, now residing in New Delhi, was visiting Pakistan for the last two months to meet their relatives. However, they are now unsure about getting permission to return to India.

“There are five of us, including my young son and daughter, uncle and aunt. We all hold Pakistani passports and were granted No Obligation to Return to India (NORI) certificate by India. But uncertainty looms now, said a family member named Indira.

“Families with cross-border ties often bear the brunt of rising tensions between the two neighbours. With tensions between Pakistan and India once again on the rise, human connections across borders are becoming the first casualty,” said Asif Memood, a Lahore-based journalist.

“The closure of the Wagah-Attari border has left many families in limbo, uncertain when they will next reunite with their loved ones,” he added.

New Delhi, April 25: The US government has slammed a prominent American media organisation for its coverage of the April 22 terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, where 26 people were brutally killed.

The US House Foreign Affairs Committee sharply criticised The New York Times, accusing it of downplaying the gravity of the incident by using terms like “militants” and “gunmen” instead of “terrorists”.

In a post on X, the Committee rebuked the newspaper’s use of words, sharing an image of the original headline — “At Least 24 Tourists Gunned Down by Militants in Kashmir” — with the word “militants” struck out and replaced in bold red with “terrorists”.

“Hey, @nytimes we fixed it for you. This was a TERRORIST ATTACK plain and simple. Whether it’s India or Israel, when it comes to TERRORISM the NYT is removed from reality,” the US Committee wrote.

This, perhaps, unprecedented reaction comes in the wake of the brutal terror attack in J&K’s Pahalgam, where Hindus were singled out and shot dead. The attack was later claimed by ‘The Resistance Front’ — an offshoot of the banned Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Terrorists opened fire on a group of tourists in the Baisaran Valley, killing 26 and injuring several others. The casualties also included a Nepali tourist. Visuals from the scene have flooded various media, showing chaos and panic, with some of the attackers captured on video firing indiscriminately.

The New York Times, in its report, referred to the terrorists as “militants” and “gunmen”, noting that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi “called the shooting, the worst against civilians in the region for years, a ‘terror attack’ and vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice”. The framing of the attack as merely a “shooting” has drawn strong objections from several quarters of the US government.

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump called Prime Minister Modi to express his condolences and offer full support in bringing the perpetrators to justice.

“President Trump strongly condemned the terror attack and expressed full support to India to bring to justice the perpetrators of this heinous attack. India and the United States stand together in the fight against terror,” said Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, in a post on X.

US Vice President JD Vance also called PM Modi, condemning the terror attack and reiterated solidarity with India in its fight against terrorism.