After row over Indus Waters Treaty remarks, farmer leader clarifies

Centre blocks 16 Pak YouTube channelsPak Defence Minister says Indian attack imminent

- SANJEEB MUKHERJEE

At the daylong special session of Jammu & Kashmir's (J&K's) Assembly, legislators passed a unanimous resolution to defeat the nefarious designs of those who sought to disturb the communal harmony and progress of the nation and of J&K.

The resolution said "this House is mindful of the sinister design behind the selective targeting of the victims" of the terror attack in Pahalgam on Tuesday, when 26 people were killed.

Addressing the Assembly, J&K Chief Minister (CM) Omar Abdullah said he would not indulge in "sasti siyasat (cheap politics) to use the Pahalgam terror attack as an opportunity to press for the restoration of statehood to the Union Territory.

He said as CM and tourism minister of J&K it was his responsibility to ensure that the tourists returned home safely and that he had no words to apologise to them.

Abdullah noted that for the first time in many years, he witnessed truly unified protests against terror attacks.

According to a government source, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday and briefed him on the ongoing operations and security arrangements in J&K.

In a development related to the terror attack, officials in the Union government said the Centre had blocked 16 Pakistani YouTube channels for allegedly disseminating "false, provocative and communally sensitive content" about India and also strongly objected to the BBC's reportage on the Pahalgam attack.