Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said he his ready for a "neutral investigation" of the terror attack in Pahalgam. 

Addressing a graduation ceremony at the Pakistan Military Academy in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's Kakul, Prime Minister Sharif said that his country is open to taking part in a "credible" investigation.

"The recent tragedy in Pahalgam is yet another example of this perpetual blame game, which must come to a grinding halt. Continuing with its role as a responsible country, Pakistan is open to participating in any neutral, transparent and credible investigation," he said. 

Adil Ahmed Thoker, one of the terrorists involved in the Pahalgam massacre of April 22, which saw 26 people gunned down, went to Pakistan in 2018 and returned six years later with three to four terrorists, sources said.

Pakistani Hindu refugees living in India are gripped by fear as the deadline approaches for Pakistani nationals to leave in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack.

At a refugee colony in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer, NDTV found several families who had entered India through the Wagah-Attari border. "Eklavya Bhil Basti" in Mulsagar village hosts over a thousand Hindu refugees from Pakistan who have come to India on short-term visas. But the April 27 deadline for Pakistani nationals has left them worried.

Kheto Ram, who used to live in Sindh, had left Pakistan due to continuous harassment, selling everything that they owned there. He and his family - his wife and two sons - had arrived in India just hours before the Pahalgam attack unfolded on Tuesday.

Speaking to NDTV, Mr Ram said the attack had left him fuming. As tensions between India and Pakistan escalated, the thought of returning to a "hell like Pakistan" has left him disturbed. For him, "dying in India is acceptable, but not returning to a hell like Pakistan."

He said he has appealed to the government and the prime minister to consider his case, stating that his entire family had moved to India after selling everything they had in Pakistan.

Balam, another man from Sindh among the refugees at Eklavya Basti, his wife and young son are not keen on returning to Pakistan. Death is better than that, Balam said while his wife pleaded, "We left everything we had, please don't send us back."

Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly has said that India should break all cricketing ties with Pakistan.

Speaking to the news agency ANI after the Pahalgam attack, Mr Ganguly said, "100 per cent, this (breaking ties with Pakistan) should be done. Strict action is necessary. It is no joke that such things happen every year. Terrorism cannot be tolerated."

Markets in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal have been shut today in solidarity with the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has announced a financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh to the family of Syed Adil Hussain Shah, a pony ride operator who was killed while protecting tourists during the Pahalgam terror attack.

The 20-year-old reportedly tried to shield a tourist travelling on his horse and even attempted to disarm one of the terrorists by grabbing a rifle. However, he was shot dead by the terrorists in the process. 

Mr Shinde also spoke to his family via video conferencing and offered condolences.

The Shiv Sena leader praised his courage and humanity, calling his actions a "unique example to the world." 

"The bravery shown by Syed Adil Hussain Shah will be remembered by the entire nation. His martyrdom is a testament to the power of humanity in the face of terror," he said during the video call, according to the release from his office.

Pakistani troops opened "unprovoked" fire at Indian posts across the Line of Control last night as tensions escalated between the two countries over Pahalgam attack. This was the second time in two nights that Pakistan Army had tried to provoke the Indian side.

Indian Army reported the firing from multiple posts from across the Line of Control, the de facto boundary separating Indian and Pakistani armies in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Officials said Indian troops retaliated appropriately to the Pakistani firing.

No casualties were reported in the exchange of fire, the Indian Army said in a statement.

The houses of five terrorists, including a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander, have been destroyed across Jammu and Kashmir on Friday night, days after the Pahalgam terror attack killed 26 people.

According to officials, the latest actions were taken in Shopian, Kulgam, and Pulwama districts as the security forces have intensified the crackdown on LeT operatives and suspects linked to the deadly attack.

Emphasising the importance of suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil has said India will ensure that not even a "drop of water" from the Indus river goes to Pakistan.

Mr Patil said this in a post on Friday after a meeting at Home Minister Amit Shah's residence, which was also attended by top officials.

"The historic decision taken by the Modi government on the Indus Water Treaty is completely justified and in the national interest. We will ensure that not even a drop of water from the Indus River goes to Pakistan," Mr Patil wrote in Hindi on X.

The suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 was announced by India on Wednesday as part of a series of steps taken after the terror attack in Pahalgam.

Among the options that are on the table in the short term, the Centre is looking at de-silting existing dams on the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab and increasing reservoir capacity, all of which will reduce the water flowing into Pakistan.

Pakistan has been objecting to two hydroelectric projects by India - Kishenganga on a tributary of the Jhelum and Ratle, which is under construction on a tributary of the Chenab. The suspension of the treaty will allow India to ignore Pakistan's objections.

In the longer term, building new dams and infrastructure on these rivers is also something that is being considered.

As diplomatic and military tensions between India and Pakistan simmer following Tuesday's deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Iran has stepped forward with a formal offer to mediate between the two countries.

Saudi Arabia is trying to defuse tensions between India and Pakistan, after a deadly attack in Kashmir, a senior Saudi official has told the news agency AFP.

"The Kingdom is undertaking efforts to prevent an escalation between India and Pakistan," the senior Saudi official said, on condition of anonymity.

"The two countries are allies of Saudi Arabia and we do not want the situation to get out of control."

PM Modi -- who has vowed to pursue Pahalgam attack accused "to the ends of the Earth" -- was on an official visit to Saudi Arabia when Tuesday's attack happened, forcing him to cut short his trip and return home.

The UNSC has "condemned in the strongest terms" the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir, stressing that those responsible should be held accountable and the organisers and sponsors of this "reprehensible act of terrorism" should be brought to justice.

"The members of the Security Council underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of this reprehensible act of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice," the 15-nation Council said in a press statement.

"They stressed that those responsible for these killings should be held accountable, and urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with all relevant authorities in this regard," it said.

Pakistani nationals have started to return to their country from the Wagah-Attari border in Amritsar ahead of their deadline to leave India in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack.

"We had come here on a one and half a month visa to attend a relative's wedding, and are returning within 15 days... Whatever happened was wrong. Someone else did this act and people like us have to pay for it... We had come here after 10 years... Whoever did it ran away but we are facing the consequences," a Pakistani woman told the news agency ANI on her way back to Pakistan.

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) President Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday led a candle march to protest the Pahalgam terror attack.

The Congress leader recalled how former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had compared then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to Goddess Durga over India's retaliation in the 1967 India-China war and the creation of Bangladesh in 1971.

Amid soaring tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack, Iran has reached out to its "two brotherly neighbours" to de-escalate the situation.

"India and Pakistan are brotherly neighbors of Iran, enjoying relations rooted in centuries-old cultural and civilizational ties. Like other neighbors, we consider them our foremost priority," Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said in a social media post on Friday.

Mr Araghchi said Tehran stands "ready to use its good offices in Islamabad and New Delhi to "forge greater understanding at this difficult time" in line with the spirit of Persian poet Saadi.

US President Donald Trump has said that there have "always been tensions" between India and Pakistan, as relations between the two neighbours worsened after a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam left 26 people dead this week.

"I am very close to India and I'm very close to Pakistan, as you know. And they've had that fight for 1,000 years in Kashmir... Probably longer than that," he told reporters as he travelled aboard Air Force One to Rome for Pope Francis' funeral.

"It was a bad one," he said, referring to Tuesday's attack in Baisaran meadow near Pahalgam, which was the deadliest one in Jammu and Kashmir in recent times.

"There have been tensions on that border for 1,500 years. So you know, the same as it's been, but they'll get it figured out one way or the other. I'm sure... I know both leaders. There is great tension between Pakistan and India. But there always has been," President Trump added.