New Delhi/IBNS: India has snapped the water flow to Pakistan from the Baglihar dam on Chenab river in another diplomatic strike on Islamabad in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, media reports said.

India has started de-silting operations in the dam and lowered the sluice gates so that the waterflow to Pakistan is reduced by 90 percent.

"We have closed the gates of the Baglihar hydel power project. We had done de-silting of the reservoir and it has to be refilled. The process was started on Saturday," a second official, who maintained anonymity, said as quoted by Hindustan Times.

In an immediate response to the attack, India suspended the landmark Indus River water-sharing treaty and closed the Attari-Wagah road border which acts a lifeline of Indo-Pak trade and people-to-people ties, besides expelling diplomats, downsizing high commissions and issuing a 48-hour deadline to Pakistani visa holders present in India to leave.

Pahalgam attack and its aftermath

Twenty-six people, including 23 Hindu male tourists, were killed by terrorists in Baisaran meadows, a popular destination in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, on April 22.

The terrorists- belonging to The Resistance Front (TRF), which is an offshoot of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)- asked the victims to chant Islamic verses (kalma) and made them pull down their pants to be sure of their their non-Muslim religious identities (read circumcision)  before gunning them down before their families, including wives, children and daughters.

The massacre triggered a nationwide outrage and escalated India-Pakistan tensions as New Delhi vowed to avenge the killings.

Modi gives full freedom to Indian military

Modi has given the armed forces 'complete freedom to decide on the mode, targets, and timing' of India's military response to the Pahalgam terror attack which was targeted at Hindus.

Modi took the decision on Tuesday at a meeting with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, and Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan.

The Prime Minister reaffirmed that it is 'our national resolve to deal a crushing blow to terrorism' and that he has 'complete faith and confidence' in the Indian military.

After the 2019 Pulwama terror attack, India conducted precision air strikes on terrorist camps in Balakot in Pakistan. The camps were run by banned terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed with the help from the Pak Army.