Surat (Gujarat) [India], April 24 (ANI): The mortal remains of Shailesh Kalthia, one of the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack, have been brought to his hometown Surat in the late hours on Wednesday.

His mortal remains were brought to Surat Airport by a special Air India plane.

Union Water Resources Minister CR Patel, Gujarat Ministers Harsh Sanghvi, Praful Pansheriya, Mukesh Patel, and other state MLAS and officials paid tribute to his mortal remains.

Kalthia was a native of the Varachha area of Surat city and was one of the 26 tourists who were killed in the Pahalgam terror attack.

In an emotional request, the nephew of deceased Shailesh Kalthia urged the government to take the strictest action on the perpetrators so that none of the families have to suffer this immense pain.

He said in a numb voice that today was his uncle's birthday.

Speaking to ANI, the nephew, Ankur Sutariya, said,'...My uncle was with my aunt and their children in Kashmir. We came to know about the terrorist attack from the media, and we tried to call them but couldn't connect. We talked to the officials there, and they told us he is safe, but soon after that, we were informed that he is dead now... Political leaders from the state and other people are visiting us. We request the government to take the strictest action so that none of the families have to suffer this immense pain. Today, it was his birthday (of the deceased).'

Meanwhile, the mortal remains of father-son duo Yatish Parmar and his son, Smit Parmar, who lost their lives in the Pahalgam terrorist attack, have been brought to Bhavnagar.

Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghvi has paid tributes to their mortal remains at the Ahmedabad airport.

Taking to a social media post on X, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel announced an ex-gratia amount for the victims of the incident: Rs 5 lakhs for the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured.

'The Gujarat government stands with full sympathy for the families of the victims of the terrorist attack on tourists in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. The state government will provide Rs 5 lakh assistance to the families of the Gujarati tourists who lost their lives in this attack and Rs 50,000 assistance to the injured tourists from the state,' CM Patel posted on X.

As many as 26 people were killed in the dastardly attack by terrorists on tourists in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday.

India on Wednesday announced a series of steps to give a strong message to Pakistan for its support to cross-border terrorism, stating that the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 will be held in abeyance and the integrated checkpost at Attari will be closed with immediate effect.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri addressed a special press conference after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security and said Pakistani nationals will not be permitted to travel to India under the SAARC visa Exemption scheme.

The CCS meeting, which lasted over two hours, was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Cabinet Committee of Security (CCS), which met on Wednesday, was briefed in detail on the terrorist attack in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir in which 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen were killed.

The CCS condemned the attack in the strongest terms and expressed its deepest condolences to the families of the victims and hoped for the early recovery of the injured. In the briefing to the CCS, the cross-border linkages of the terrorist attack were brought out.

The families of victims of the Pahalgam terror attack mourned the loss of their loved ones as they urged the government to take strong action against the perpetrators of the heinous crime.

The attack, carried out by terrorists at Baisaran meadow in Pahalgam on Tuesday, is one of the deadliest in the Valley since the 2019 Pulwama strike in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed. The attack was one of the biggest terror attacks in the region after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. (ANI)