Pakistan's Senate passes resolution against India’s bid to link Islamabad to Pahalgam attack: Dawn

The Senate of Pakistan unanimously passed a resolution today (25 April) against India's alleged attempt to link Pakistan to the deadly attack in India-held Kashmir earlier this week, reports Dawn.

The attack took place in Pahalgam, a tourist hotspot in India-occupied Kashmir that draws thousands of visitors every summer. Gunmen opened fire on visitors, killing at least 26 people — all men from across India except one from Nepal — and injuring 17 others.

During a meeting of Pakistan's National Security Committee (NSC) in Islamabad a day earlier, the committee called on India to "refrain from its reflexive blame game and cynical, staged, managed exploitation of incidents like Pahalgam to further its narrow political agenda".

The resolution, moved by Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, stated that the country remains fully capable and prepared to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity against any aggression, including water terrorism or military provocation.

The Senate emphasised that the killing of innocent civilians is contrary to the values upheld by Pakistan, according to the resolution.

It also "rejects all frivolous and baseless attempts to link Pakistan with the Pahalgam Attack of 22nd April 2025 in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir".

The Senate further condemned "the orchestrated and mala fide campaign by the Indian government to malign Pakistan, which follows a familiar pattern of exploiting the issue of terrorism for a narrow political goal".

It also condemned "India's unlawful and unilateral declaration to hold the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance in blatant violation of the Treaty which clearly amounts to an act of war".

On Wednesday, New Delhi unleashed a slew of aggressive measures against the Pakistan following the attack.

Among India's actions was the unilateral move to suspend the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, which was brokered by the World Bank and has endured through wars and decades of hostility.

India also shut its borders and downgraded diplomatic ties, in addition to suspending the Indus Waters Treaty over what the BJP government and media claimed — without offering any evidence — was Islamabad's alleged support for cross-border terrorism.

In its resolution, the Senate warned that Pakistan "remains fully capable and prepared to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity against any aggression, including water terrorism or military provocation as clearly demonstrated by its robust and valiant response to India's reckless actions in February 2019; and any misadventure by India will be met with a firm, swift and decisive response".

"[The Senate] emphasises that the people of Pakistan remain committed to peace, but will never allow anyone to transgress the country's sovereignty, security, and interests."

It demanded that India be held accountable "for its involvement in different acts of terrorism and targeted assassinations on the soil of other countries, including Pakistan."

The resolution concluded by saying the Senate reaffirms Pakistan's "unwavering moral, political and diplomatic support for and commitment to the Kashmiri people's just struggle for realisation of their inalienable right to self-determination."

During his weekly press briefing today, Foreign Office Spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan reiterated the steps announced by the Prime Minister's Office yesterday following New Dehli's measures against Pakistan in the wake of the attack.