Pakistan has called an emergency meeting of its National Security Committee (NSC) following a gun attack in Indian-administered Kashmir. The Pakistani authorities have called the meeting primarily in response to India's diplomatic response.

The meeting is expected to be attended by top military and civilian officials. India has blamed Pakistan for the attack in Kashmir, which killed 26 people. It has also announced several steps against Pakistan.

This has led to extreme tension between the two countries, TRT World reported in a report on Thursday (April 24).

The media outlet says that Pakistan has called an emergency meeting of its National Security Committee (NSC) to respond to India's diplomatic response to the horrific terrorist attack on tourists in Kashmir.

Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said the meeting, which will be attended by top military and civilian officials and is usually called only in times of major terrorist attacks or external threats, will be held on Thursday.

Earlier, India took several diplomatic measures on Wednesday following the attack. India suspended a water-sharing agreement and closed the main land border between the two countries, accusing Pakistan of supporting "cross-border terrorism". It also expelled Pakistani diplomats and cancelled some visas of Pakistani citizens in India and ordered them to leave India within two days.

The attack took place on Tuesday in the tourist resort of Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, a picturesque area in the Himalayas. Unidentified gunmen opened fire on tourists. The attack killed 26 people, all but one of whom were Indian citizens. Only one of the dead was a Nepali citizen. It was the worst civilian killing in Kashmir in 25 years.

Indian police have claimed that separatist rebels were behind the attack. However, no group has officially claimed responsibility for the attack. Although a previously unknown group called "Kashmir Resistance" has claimed responsibility for the attack on social media.

They claim that the Indian government has settled around 85,000 “outsiders” in Kashmir and that the dead are “not ordinary tourists, but are associated with Indian intelligence agencies.” However, no independent evidence has yet been found for this claim.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has called the attack a "false flag" operation by India, claiming that India staged the attack itself to shift the blame to Pakistan. Pakistan has also said that it will give a "befitting reply" to India's diplomatic moves.

Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Asif also called the attack a "false flag" and told Pakistani media, "This possibility can never be completely ruled out."

It is worth noting that the Indian-administered region of Kashmir has been in an insurgency against Indian rule since 1989. Many Kashmiri Muslims support the rebels and want the region to either join Pakistan or emerge as an independent state.

India claims it is Pakistan-influenced “terrorism.” Pakistan, on the other hand, says it is a legitimate independence movement. Thousands of civilians, insurgents and security forces have been killed in the long conflict.