New Delhi, April 24 (IANS) Delhi BJP President and other party leaders were detained on Thursday as they joined a protest organised by the Anti-Terror Action Forum outside the Pakistan High Commission against the terrorist attack in Pahalgam.

The protest, which included shouting slogans against Pakistan, began with a one-minute silence in memory of 26 Indian tourists and a local Kashmiri killed in the Pahalgam attack on April 22.

Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva, former state presidents Harsh Vardhan and Satish Upadhyay, State General Secretary Vishnu Mittal, and other BJP leaders and MLAs, along with office bearers of the Anti-Terror Action Forum, participated in the protest.

The protesters held placards carrying slogans against Pakistan, and the Forum’s activists hit out at the neighbouring country for supporting terror.

Some of the banners read: “Won’t bow before terrorism” and “Down with Pakistan”.

During the protest, BJP workers broke police barricades, after which Virendra Sachdeva and hundreds of BJP workers were detained by Delhi Police and taken to Chanakyapuri Police Station. They were released shortly thereafter.

Sachdeva said that every Indian who loves the country is angry today, and the Pakistan-backed terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack will soon face the consequences of their deeds.

“Those who kill innocent people after asking their caste or religion must be punished. This is today’s India - the India of PM Narendra Modi - which has responded to attacks in Uri and Pulwama, and will soon respond to Pahalgam,” he said.

He added that so far, India has only stopped the flow of river water, cancelled visas, and reduced the strength at the embassy, but the Modi-led government will soon take revenge for Pahalgam in a manner they understand.

Sachdeva said that “traitors” of India, in the guise of politicians who preach secularism, need to understand that what happened in Kashmir could happen in their own homes tomorrow if we do not unite today.

“Our protest is also against those people in the Pakistan High Commission who enjoy our hospitality but are colluding with the enemies of the nation,” he said.

Harsh Vardhan repeated the demand for declaring Pakistan a terrorist state, as “suggested” by the United Nations.