The United States strongly criticised The New York Times for its coverage of the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, where around 28 civilians were killed. The backlash, led by the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, accused the newspaper of minimizing the brutality of the attack by referring to the perpetrators as “militants” instead of “terrorists.” As outrage grew, the US reaffirmed its full support for India, with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance personally reaching out to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to condemn the violence and offer condolences.
The criticism came after The New York Times published a report with the headline, “At Least 24 Tourists Gunned Down by Militants in Kashmir.” The US House Foreign Affairs Committee shared a screenshot of the headline on X, crossing out the word “militants” and replacing it with “terrorists” in bold red letters. The committee’s caption read, “Hey, @nytimes we fixed it for you… this was a TERRORIST ATTACK, plain and simple.”
The newspaper’s article had also referred to the incident as a “shooting” and quoted Prime Minister Narendra Modi as calling it a “terror attack,” without using the term itself. The US committee called out this framing, stating that the NYT continues to underplay acts of terrorism, whether in India or Israel, by refusing to call them what they are.
US leadership stands by India
In the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack, President Trump spoke to Prime Minister Modi and expressed his deep sorrow over the loss of lives. He condemned the attack as heinous and assured India of complete American support in bringing the perpetrators to justice. US Vice President JD Vance also personally called PM Narendra Modi, echoing similar sentiments and emphasizing that the United States stands firmly with the people of India during this time.
India ramps up pressure on Pakistan
India responded to the Pahalgam attack with a series of decisive measures targeting Pakistan, which it holds responsible for supporting cross-border terrorism. In a Cabinet Committee on Security meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India decided to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960. Additionally, the integrated Attari Check Post was shut down.
India also expelled Pakistani High Commission officials, declared them persona non grata, and revoked all visas issued under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme, giving Pakistani nationals 48 hours to exit the country.
