The United Nations urged India and Pakistan to show “maximum restraint” as the nuclear-armed rivals imposed tit-for-tat diplomatic measures over a deadly shooting in Kashmir.Relations have plunged to their lowest level in years, with India accusing Pakistan of supporting “cross-border terrorism” after gunmen carried out the worst attack on civilians in contested Muslim-majority Kashmir for a quarter of a century.”We very much appeal to both the governments… to exercise maximum restraint, and to ensure that the situation and the developments we’ve seen do not deteriorate any further,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York on Thursday.”Any issues between Pakistan and India, we believe, can be and should be resolved peacefully through meaningful mutual engagement”.Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday vowed to hunt down the gunmen responsible for killing 26 civilians at the popular tourist site of Pahalgam, after Indian police identified two of the three fugitive gunmen as Pakistani.”I say to the whole world: India will identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backer,” Modi said, in his first speech since Tuesday’s attack in the Himalayan region.”We will pursue them to the ends of the Earth.”Denying any involvement, Islamabad called attempts to link Pakistan to the Pahalgam attack “frivolous” and vowed to respond to any Indian action.”Any threat to Pakistan’s sovereignty and to the security of its people will be met with firm reciprocal measures in all domains,” a Pakistani statement said, after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a rare National Security Committee with top military chiefs.Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since its independence in 1947, with both claiming the territory in full but governing separate portions of it.Rebel groups have waged an insurgency in Indian-controlled Kashmir since 1989, demanding independence or a merger with Pakistan.India’s air force and navy both carried out military exercises Thursday.Indian police say the three gunmen are members of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba group, a UN-designated terrorist organisation. They offered a two million rupee ($23,500) bounty for information leading to each man’s arrest.A day after the attack, New Delhi suspended a water-sharing treaty, announced the closure of the main land border crossing with Pakistan, downgraded diplomatic ties, and withdrew visas for Pakistanis.In response, Islamabad on Thursday ordered the expulsion of Indian diplomats and military advisers, cancelling visas for Indian nationals — with the exception of Sikh pilgrims — and closing the main border crossing from its side.Pakistan also warned any attempt by India to stop the supply of water from the Indus River would be an “act of war.”- ‘Reduce it to dust’ -Pahalgam marks a dramatic shift in recent Kashmiri rebel attacks, which typically target Indian security forces.Experts say that a military response may still be in the pipeline, with some speculating that it may come within days while others say weeks. In 2019, a suicide attack killed 41 Indian troops in Kashmir and triggered Indian air strikes inside Pakistan, bringing the countries to the brink of all-out war. “Whatever little land these terrorists have, it’s time to reduce it to dust,” Modi said on Thursday, after holding two minutes of silence in memory of those killed, all but one of whom was Indian.India has taken its time to respond to past attacks.The worst attack in recent years in Indian-run Kashmir was at Pulwama in 2019, when insurgents rammed a car packed with explosives into a police convoy, killing 40 and wounding 35.Indian fighter jets carried out air strikes on Pakistani territory 12 days later.Tuesday’s assault occurred as tourists enjoyed tranquil mountain views at the popular site at Pahalgam, when gunmen burst out of forests and raked crowds with automatic weapons.Survivors told Indian media the gunmen targeted men and spared those who could give the Islamic declaration of faith.Indian security forces have launched a vast manhunt for the attackers, with large numbers of people detained.The attack has enraged Hindu nationalist groups, and students from Kashmir at institutions across India have reported experiencing harassment and intimidation.burs-pjm/dhc

A decade has passed since a massive earthquake ripped through Nepal, but in Ram Bahadur Nakarmi’s home the damage is still visible — and so is the fear another might strike. Ten years ago, on April 25, 2015, the ground beneath Nepal shuddered with a magnitude-7.8 earthquake, killing nearly 9,000 people, injuring over 22,000, and leaving millions homeless.The disaster also reduced monuments to ruins, including centuries-old temples and royal palaces in the Kathmandu valley that attracted visitors from around the world.Nakarmi’s four-storey home in historic Bhaktapur city was damaged, but financial constraints made it impossible for him to rebuild.The 61-year-old continues to live in his house despite the cracks.  “Even now, it is still scary,” Nakarmi told AFP. “We are still feeling the tremors and they terrify us — we run outside the house”.The aftermath of the quake exposed deep cracks in Nepal’s disaster response system and the rebuilding efforts were initially hit by political infighting, bureaucracy and confusion.Yet over the last decade, significant progress have been made.According to official figures, nearly 90 percent of the homes destroyed have been rebuilt, alongside thousands of schools, health institutions, and public buildings.Temples and cultural landmarks are also slowly rising again.A joint assessment of affected districts by Nepal’s National Society for Earthquake Technology, and the international Global Quake Model showed marked improvements for resilience in the face of another quake. They estimated there had been a 44 percent reduction in the number of buildings at risk of complete collapse, after Nepal’s rebuilding and retrofitting drive. “Our initial years were focused on rebuilding. Now our focus should be in areas which were not affected in 2015 but are at risk of a quake,” Dinesh Prasad Bhatt chief of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA), told AFP.”We have to extend the reach of lessons learnt from the earthquake to all parts of the country.”- ‘Inadequate progress’ – The disaster was a wake up call for a country that is situated on a dangerous geological faultline, where the Indian tectonic plate collides with the Eurasian plate to form the Himalayas.According to the UN, Nepal ranks 11th in terms of earthquake risk.Experts question if the country is prepared for the next one.In the decade since the quake, the country has taken important steps. The NDRRMA disaster reduction and management authority was established, and building codes were updated to reflect seismic safety standards. Unlike 2015, there are elected members at local levels responsible for mobilising rescue teams, volunteers and stockpiles of emergency resources in case of a disaster. “If you really look into a holistic picture, compared to what we had back in 2015 and right now, we’ve made massive progress,” said Anil Pokharel, a former NDRRMA chief.”But still, it is inadequate given the kind of growing risks.”Experts say that while Kathmandu’s skyline now includes more reinforced buildings, rural areas — where infrastructure is weaker and access to resources limited — remain exposed.Only 9.4 percent of structures were revealed to be safe in a 2023 integrity assessment of nearly 29,000 buildings of schools, health centres and government offices across the country by the NDRRMA.Implementation of disaster preparedness policies and building codes is also inconsistent. “Nepal has made many policies learning from the 2015 quake experience, but policies are only pieces of paper that dictate the system,” said Surya Narayan Shrestha, from the National Society for Earthquake Technology.”To make the system itself effective, we need people… and systems that have that capacity.” – ‘Dangerously underprepared’ -David Sislen, the World Bank chief Nepal, said that despite better policies and institutional framework, the country remains “dangerously underprepared for a major disaster”.”Without stronger enforcement and implementation of risk reduction and mitigation measures, the physical footprint of vulnerability will continue to grow, putting people, services and assets are risk,” Sislen said.He added that there was a need for “a phased financing strategy for retrofitting schools, hospitals, and other vital infrastructure”.Records at the National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Center show that over 800 earthquakes with a magnitude of four or above have struck Nepal since the 2015 quake.Every tremor takes Shri Krishna Chhusyabada, a quake survivor who lost three of his family members under the rubble of his house, back to the fateful day. “It was a black day for us. That day took away all our happiness,” Chhusyabada said. “I hope we never see such devastation again.”