India PM vows to pursue Kashmir attackers to 'ends of the Earth'

India, Apr. 25: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed on Thursday to punish all those responsible for a gruesome attack in Kashmir that killed 26 men. "I say to the whole world: India will identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backer," he said in his first speech since Tuesday's attack in the Himalayan region.

 "We will pursue them to the ends of the Earth". The shooting in the tourist hotpot of Pahalgam was the deadliest attack on civilians in the contested Muslim-majority territory since 2000. Of the men killed, 26 were Indian and one was Nepali. India accused Islamabad on Wednesday of supporting "cross-border terrorism" and downgraded ties with its neighbour with a raft of diplomatic measures.

 Pakistan has denied any role in the Pahalgam attack. Modi, who was speaking in Bihar state to launch development projects, first led two minutes of silence in memory of those killed.  "I say this unequivocally: whoever has carried out this attack, and the ones who devised it, will be made to pay beyond their imagination", he said, speaking in Hindi in front of a large crowd.

 "They will certainly pay. Whatever little land these terrorists have, it's time to reduce it to dust. The willpower of 1.4 billion Indians will break the backbone of these terrorists." He finished his speech with rare comments in English, directing them to an audience abroad.

 "Terrorism will not go unpunished," Modi said. "Every effort will be made to ensure that justice is done." Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence in 1947, with both claiming the high-altitude territory in full but governing separate portions of it.

Meanwhile, students from Indian-administered Kashmir have reported harassment and intimidation in India after a gruesome attack in the Himalayan region killed more than two dozen Indian men, a student association said Thursday.

Gunmen killed 26 men -- all Indian except one Nepali -- in the tourist hotpot of Pahalgam on Tuesday, the deadliest attack on civilians in the contested Muslim-majority territory since 2000. Survivors said the gunmen targeted men, sparing those who could give the Islamic declaration of faith, Indian media reported. 

The killings have shocked the world's most populous country and enraged Hindu nationalist groups. Kashmiri students in states including Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh were allegedly asked to leave their rented apartments or university hostels on Wednesday, Jammu and Kashmir Students Association convener Nasir Khuehami said.

 At a university in Himachal Pradesh, students were harassed and physically attacked after hostel doors were broken, Khuehami said. The students were allegedly called "terrorists", he added. 

"This is not just a security issue", he said. "It is a deliberate and targeted campaign of hate and vilification against students from a particular region and identity". In Uttarakhand's capital city Dehradun, around 20 students fled to the airport on Wednesday following warnings from Hindu Raksha Dal, a fringe right-wing group. (AFP)