(HT)
At least 26 people were feared dead and another 15 injured after terrorists gunned down a group of tourists in a picturesque meadow near Kashmir’s Pahalgam town on Tuesday afternoon, marking the worst attack on civilians in the restive region in nearly two decades.
The deadly strike, which came during US vice president JD Vance’s visit to India, took place in Baisaran meadow, around five kilometres from Pahalgam town in Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
Located atop a hill, the meadow is ringed by snow-capped mountains and dotted with pine forests. The top sightseeing destination — known in local parlance as mini Switzerland — is accessible only by foot or on horses. The attack came weeks before the Amarnath Yatra commences on July 3 and amid a record rise in tourism in the Valley.
Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba’s proxy, the Resistance Front (TRF) , claimed responsibility for the attack.
Eyewitnesses said that some victims were lined up, asked their names and faith, and to recite an Islamic verse. “A youth came and asked my father to recite..and then opened fire as my father couldn’t,” said Asavari Jagdale, the daughter of Pune-based businessman Santosh Jagdale.
Another survivor, Pallavi from Karnataka, said her husband Manjunath Rao was shot dead in front of her. ““They shot my husband…I told them kill me and my son too. The terrorist told me – I won’t. Go and tell Modi,” she said.
There was no official word on the number of casualties till the time of going to print. But officers in the Jammu and Kashmir Police and intelligence agencies said at least 26 people were dead, with some officials putting the toll around 30 — all men.
HT confirmed that some of the victims hailed from Jammu & Kashmir, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Odisha, among others. Among the victims were officers from the navy and central agencies, members of the police, and two foreign nationals whose identification was still in progress, said people aware of developments.
The dastardly event, also the worst terror strike in the Union Territory since the 2019 Pulwama attacks killed 40 soldiers, prompted Prime Minister Narendra Modi to cut short his trip to Saudi Arabia.
Union home minister Amit Shah flew down to Srinagar on Tuesday evening and held a high-level security meeting with lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha and a separate one with chief minister Omar Abdullah.
“Those behind this heinous act will be brought to justice…they will not be spared! Their evil agenda will never succeed. Our resolve to fight terrorism is unshakable and it will get even stronger,” Modi posted on X. He will return to India on Wednesday morning.
According to people aware of the matter, a group of four heavily armed terrorists emerged out of the woods at around 2pm on Tuesday and indiscriminately started firing at around 500 tourists who were present on the grasslands. “This attack is much larger than anything we’ve seen directed at civilians in recent years,” Abdullah said.
The attack, reminiscent of the heydays of militancy in the 1990s and 2000s and the worst to rock Kashmir since the abrogation of the region’s special status in 2019, appeared to be aimed at hurting the booming tourism economy and raised questions about security preparedness in a region that has seen a smattering of strikes against migrant labourers and army personnel in recent years.
Visuals from the spot showed several people bleeding and lying motionless on the ground as survivors wailed and called for help. As gunshots rang out, there was panic and tourists ran for cover but there was no place to hide in the wide, open space, said a tourist.
“I cannot say how many, but the militants came out of the forest near an open small meadow and started firing….it was sometimes a single shot and sometimes many bullets…It was like a storm,” said an eyewitness, requesting anonymity.
The attack, according to an officer in central intelligence agencies, was carried out by four LeT men, including three highly trained foreign terrorists from Pakistan and one local man, identified as Adil Thokkar, a resident of Bijbehara area. “The terrorists incessantly fired upon the unsuspecting civilians. A cordon has been created in the entire area and attackers are being hunted,” said the officer cited above.
The incident, according to this officer, was like the March 2000 massacre of 35 Sikhs in Chittisinghpura, which was timed with the visit of then US President Bill Clinton.
TRF, an offshoot of LeT, said the strike was in response to “85,000 outsiders” settling in the region and spurring a “demographic change.” “Consequently, violence will be directed toward those attempting to settle illegally,” it said in a statement on Telegram, according to intelligence officials.
“TRF’s name is used by LeT to divert the attention of the international community, but it is the trained terrorists of Lashkar only who target the civilians in Kashmir,” an intelligence officer said on the condition of anonymity.
People familiar with the development said the probe into the incident is likely to be handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which has already sent its team to the incident site for preliminary analysis.
“Resorting to violence is an act of cowardice and needs to be condemned in no uncertain terms,” senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi said in a statement.
The last major attack on tourists in J&K was in June 2024 when nine people were killed and 33 injured after terrorists opened fire on a bus carrying pilgrims to Katra.
“This marks a shift in their strategy, and it will affect the Valley badly. Tourists will cancel their bookings, and hotels will be empty. People from outside will fear coming to Kashmir. This is what Pakistan wants,” former chief of the J&K Police SP Vaid said.
The Pahalgam attack immediately sent ripples across the J&K tourism sector, a major source of livelihood for the region’s people, ahead of the main tourist season. Rakesh Sharma, a tourist from Delhi, said he has decided to cut short his trip immediately. “I don’t care whether others stay or not. I don’t want to take any chances. I just want to return to my home,” he said.
Kashmir registered record tourist arrivals since the revocation of Article 370 in 2019 as the government gave an impetus to the sector. Last year, nearly 3.5 million tourists visited Valley, up from 3.1 million in 2023 and 2.6 million in 2022. This year, the number already reached 600,000.
The incident led to widespread condemnation from across the political divide and international community. “Deeply disturbing news out of Kashmir,” US President Donald Trump said on social media. “The US stands strong with India against terrorism.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin extended condolences ”This brutal crime has no justification whatsoever. We expect that its organisers and perpetrators will face a deserved punishment,” he said.
