About 16 terrorists, reportedly dressed in Gilgit−Baltistan Scouts uniforms, stormed a high-altitude mountaineering base camp and killed 11 people; 10 climbers and one local tourist guide.

According to the Pakistani Senate's standing committee on foreign relations, the original motive of the terrorists had not been to kill the tourists, but to kidnap them for ransom.

[11] Zhang Jingchuan, a Chinese mountaineer who survived the assault, described his ordeal in a press-conference held at Kunming in the Yunnan province of China.

According to Zhang, a helicopter arrived nine hours after the incident, at first light, during which time he had grabbed an ice-axe and had moved to higher ground.

[4][7][15] According to later information, the terrorists planned to kidnap Chen Honglu (the dual Chinese-American citizen) to trade him for a Taliban commander in Afghanistan.

As the attack unfolded in the Nanga Parbat base camp, Chen burst out of his tent and tackled one of the terrorists using martial arts techniques.

[7] The TTP's spokesperson, Ehsanullah Ehsan, said "Through this killing we gave a message to (the) international community to ask (the) U.S. to stop drone strikes".

[18] Another TTP-associated terrorist group, Jundallah, which is notorious for organizing attacks on Shia Muslims and for its involvement in the Balochistan insurgency against Iran and Pakistan, had also previously claimed responsibility.

[4] List of fatalities in the massacre:[19][20] Following the incident, the Interior Minister of Pakistan, Nisar Ali Khan, suspended the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Chief Secretary of Gilgit-Baltistan for their failure to provide effective security to the tourists.

A day following the attack, Nisar told the National Assembly of Pakistan that an investigation committee consisting of the Chief of Army Staff (Ashfaq Parvez Kayani), the Director General of the ISI (Zaheerul Islam), representatives from other intelligence agencies and officials from the Gilgit-Baltistan police had been formed to investigate the incident.

The Chief Secretary of Gilgit-Baltistan, Munir Badini, was hesitant in linking them to the Pakistani Taliban but confirmed that from the reports he received, the assailants were trained in FATA, a place 760 kilometres (470 mi) downhill that is a hotbed of extremism and borders Afghanistan.

The Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Relations called a special meeting to get an update from the Gilgit-Baltistan authorities on the progress of investigation.

The chairman of the Senate Committee, Haji Mohammad Adeel, said that he was concerned that there was no tangible progress in bringing the culprits to justice.

Haji Mohammad Adeel disagreed, saying, "no attack is carried out by making the plan public; it is the intelligence agencies' task to assess areas, while being cognisant of the overall security atmosphere.

Gunmen opened fire on the officers' vehicle in Chilas in the Diamer district while it was returning from the house of the deputy commissioner.

According to the newly instated SP of Diamer district, Muhammad Navid, the arrested terrorists were also responsible for the February 2012 Kohistan Shia Massacre, in which 18 Shi'ite Muslims were killed.

A reward ₨2,000,000 was also announced by the Gilgit–Baltistan Home Secretary, Sibtain Ahmed, for people who helped the authorities in capturing Habib-ur-Rehman, the escaped inmate allegedly involved in the massacre at Nanga Parbat.