ASIA/INDIA - Tension between India and Pakistan after attack in Kashmir: a Catholic among the victims

Srinagar (Fides Agency) - The Parliament of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir passed a resolution today, April 28, expressing its dismay at the terrorist attack on April 22 in Pahalgam (Kashmir), which killed 26 people, mostly Indian tourists. The resolution pledges to resolutely combat “plans to disrupt harmony between communities and hinder progress.” Meanwhile, tensions remain high on the border between India and Pakistan following the attack by Pakistan-based terrorist groups, which India has described as an “act of war.” Violations of the ceasefire were reported for the fourth consecutive day along the Line of Control (LoC), the temporary border dividing Indian-controlled and Pakistani-controlled areas of Kashmir.
Meanwhile, the Indian government has banned 16 Pakistani YouTube channels for spreading provocative content and disinformation against India.
On the Pakistani side, the government in Islamabad banned Indian airlines from using its airspace due to escalating tensions between the two countries. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif emphasized that Pakistan “seeks peace in the region”: “Pakistan condemns all forms of terrorism and has nothing to do with the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam in the Indian-controlled region of Kashmir,” he said. He reiterated that Pakistan was ready to “cooperate in a transparent and impartial investigation into the terrorist attack.” He recalled that the Pakistani people themselves had been victims of terrorism over the past two decades, with thousands of their citizens losing their lives. Commenting on India's decision to suspend cooperation with Pakistan under the Indus Water Treaty, he said, “Using water as a weapon is unacceptable.”
There is only one Catholic diocese (with about 7,000 faithful) in the Indian state of Kashmir, which covers the entire territory. The Bishop of Jammu-Srinagar, Ivan Pereira, expressed his deep shock and condemned the “horrific terrorist attack against innocent tourists.” “This senseless act of violence,” said Bishop Pereira, ‘casts a dark shadow on our collective conscience’ and constitutes ‘an attack on the sanctity of human life and a betrayal of the values we hold dear as a nation: peace, harmony, and the dignity of every human being.’ He assured that he would pray unceasingly for peace.
Meanwhile, in central India, the Catholic community of the Diocese of Indore paid their respects and celebrated the funeral of Sushil Nathaniel, a 57-year-old Catholic who was one of the tourists killed in Kashmir. Nathaniel, regional director of an insurance company, was on vacation in Kashmir with his wife and two children, who managed to escape. According to his wife Jennifer, the terrorists stopped Nathaniel and asked him what his faith was. Nathaniel admitted he was Catholic. They then asked him to kneel and recite the “Kalima” (the six phrases that are the foundation of the Islamic faith, a declaration of loyalty to Allah), and Nathaniel confessed he did not know them. So they shot him in the head in cold blood. The Bishop of Indore, Monsignor Thomas Kuttimackal, celebrating the funeral, praised Nathaniel's “courage in not hiding his faith even under threat of arms,” calling him “a martyr.” (PA) (Fides Agency 28/4/2025)

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