US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's diplomatic intervention between India and Pakistan dominated early morning coverage, urging Pakistan to cooperate in investigating the Pahalgam attack while acknowledging India's grievances. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh's call with US counterpart Pete Hegseth resulted in American backing for "India's right to defend itself."
By mid-morning, NIA Director General Sadanand Date arrived at the attack site for 3D mapping. Intelligence sources revealed terrorists had scouted three other tourist locations before attacking Pahalgam and remain hidden in South Kashmir with ample provisions.
Home Minister Amit Shah made his first public statement on the attack by afternoon, vowing to "hunt down every terrorist involved." Meanwhile, the Supreme Court rejected a petition seeking judicial probe into the attack, warning against "demoralizing security forces."
Pakistan's fear was evident as they deployed multi-layered security for LeT chief Hafiz Saeed, installed jammers in their airspace, and appointed their ISI chief as National Security Advisor.