The attack killed 40 Indian Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)[a] personnel as well as the perpetrator—Adil Ahmad Dar—who was a local Kashmiri youth from the Pulwama district.

Satya Pal Malik, who was the governor of the state at the time, later alleged in an interview with Karan Thapar that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked him to remain silent on security lapses by his administration.

He questioned the credibility of Malik's allegations and asked why he didn't raise these issues when he was the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir.

[15][20] According to Time, unrest in Kashmir grew in 2016 after India killed a popular militant leader, Burhan Wani.

[8] On 14 February 2019, a convoy of 78 vehicles transporting more than 2,500 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)[a] personnel from Jammu to Srinagar was travelling on National Highway 44.

The convoy had left Jammu around 03:30 IST and was carrying a large number of personnel due to the highway having been shut down for two days prior.

They also released a video of the assailant Adil Ahmad Dar, 22, from Kakapora who had joined the group a year earlier.

The Home Ministry refused to provide CRPF aircraft on the day of the attack and instead let the convoy take the road route, ignoring intelligence inputs.

[10][42] The National Investigation Agency (NIA) dispatched a 12-member team to probe the attack, working with the Jammu and Kashmir Police.

[49] The government of India urged the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) to put Pakistan on the blacklist.

[58] On 20 February 2019, Pakistani prisoner Shakarullah, who was serving a life term in India's Jaipur Central Jail under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, was stabbed and beaten to death by four other inmates.

One of them, Abdul Rasheed Ghazi alias Kamran, was identified as a Pakistani national and was considered the mastermind of the attack and a commander of the terrorist group Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM).

[63][64][65] Kashmiri students living in other parts of India faced a backlash after the attack, including violence and harassment,[66] and eviction from their homes.

[73] A Kashmiri merchant was beaten in Kolkata; the attack was condemned by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

"[75] Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah met with Rajnath Singh seeking assistance.

[76] On 26 February, twelve Mirage 2000 jets of the Indian Air Force crossed the Line of Control and dropped bombs into Balakot, Pakistan.

[77][78] India claimed that it attacked a Jaish-e-Mohammed training camp and killed a large number of terrorists, reported to be between 300 and 350.

[2] Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the attack and expressed solidarity with the victims and their families.

[88][89][90] The New York Times questioned the nature of the link to Pakistan, pointing out that the bomber came from Indian-administered Kashmir and the explosives may also have been locally procured.

[49] Pakistan denied the allegation of a link to the attack,[92] and Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi condemned the bombing.

[96] On 19 February 2019, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said that providing safe haven to terrorists was not in Pakistan's interest.

Indian Ministry of External Affairs responded by criticising him for not condemning the attack and not offering any condolences for the victims.

[98][99] In response to Indian criticism, the newspaper Dawn pointed out that Pakistani Foreign Minister Qureshi had expressed sympathies with the victims soon after the attack.

[104][105][106] However, after conducting a press meet in Dubai, the International Cricket Council (ICC) rejected BCCI's statement regarding banning Pakistan from the World Cup and assured that the scheduled match will go ahead as planned despite the ongoing standoff between the two nations.

[107][108] On 8 March 2019, the India national cricket team wore camouflage military caps in tribute to the CRPF personnel killed in the attack during the third ODI against Australia at Ranchi.

[133] After a complaint from the Pakistani Cricket Board,[134] The ICC clarified that the Indian team had requested and was granted permission to wear the camouflage caps as a part of fundraising drive and to pay tribute to the soldiers killed in the attack.