PM Modi vows to hunt down Pahalgam attackers to 'ends of the Earth'

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modivowed to take strong action against the Pahalgam attackers on Thursday.

"I say to the whole world: India will identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backer. We will pursue them to the ends of the Earth," Modi said in his first speech since the attack on Tuesday.

He called for an all-party meeting on Thursday, to brief political groups about the government's response after militants attacked a tourist locale near Pahalgam, Kashmir. 

India also summoned the top diplomat at Pakistan's embassy,  Saad Ahmad Warraich, on Wednesday night, with India downgrading diplomatic ties Islamabad following the attack.

The attack left 26 people dead including one Nepalese national, and several others injured.

New Delhi also handed a formal persona non grata note for all Pakistani military diplomats, Indian media reported.

New Delhi downgrades ties with Islamabad

Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said India will withdraw its defense attaches in Pakistan and also reduce the number of staff at its mission in Islamabad from 55 to 30. 

Misri added that India believes there was cross-border involvement in the attack, referring to its neighbor with which it shares a tense history since the independence of the two countries from the British Empire. 

Yesterday, India suspended The Indus River water-sharing treaty with Pakistan and closed a key border crossing as part of a raft of diplomatic measures.