[4] The Jammu and Kashmir region, which both India and Pakistan claim fully but only exert partial administration, has been the pinpoint of a decades-long conflict between the two states.
Terrorist attacks in the Poonch and Rajouri districts of Jammu division have risen over the past four years, with mainly security forces being targeted.
[8] At approximately 6:15 p.m. on 9 June 2024, terrorists armed with firearms ambushed a 53-seater Yatri passenger bus carrying Hindu pilgrims in Teryath village, firing between 25 and 30 gunshots indiscriminately.
[22][7] The search was concentrated around the Teryath-Poni-Shiv Khori area, and included unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), detection dogs, and village defence committees.
They also possessed Pakistan-made chocolates, dry channa, stale chapatis, medicines, painkiller injections, two packs of A4 battery cells, and one handset with an antenna and two wires hanging from it.
[29] The Indian Army foiled an infiltration bid on July 14 along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kupwara district and killed three militants.
President Droupadi Murmu said that she was anguished by the attack, and Union Minister Amit Shah vowed that the perpetrators would face "the wrath of the law".
[32] Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale vowed to go to war with Pakistan if such attacks persisted.
[34] Opposition leader Mallikarjun Kharge condemned it, and said that "[Modi's] chest-thumping propaganda of bringing peace and normalcy … rings hollow".
The Indian Youth Congress held a candle march for the victims, while several anti-Pakistan protests broke out across the Jammu division.
[33][10] Several Indian celebrities condemned or voiced condolences over the attack, including Alia Bhatt, Priyanka Chopra, Kangana Ranaut, Rashmika Mandanna, Kajal Aggarwal, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Ajay Devgn, Varun Dhawan, Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao, Preity Zinta, Rakul Preet Singh, Raai Laxmi, Esha Gupta, Bipasha Basu, Atlee, Varun Tej, Riteish Deshmukh, Sudhanshu Pandey, Urfi Javed, Anupam Kher, Soni Razdan, Kapil Sharma, Hina Khan, and Aly Goni.
[38][39] Pakistani cricketer Hasan Ali and his wife Samiya condemned the militant ambush, by posting a story on Instagram with an AI-generated image, with added text saying "All Eyes on Vaishno Devi Attack".