In a dastardly terror attack, 28 tourists were killed in broad daylight in J&K’s Pahalgam town and many wounded when terrorists opened fire in a meadow where tourists had gathered to view snow-capped peaks and pine forests, marking the deadliest attack since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
Two foreigners were also killed in this massacre planned by Lashkar proxy The Resistance Front (TRF). Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) head Mehbooba Mufti and Hurriyat chief Mirwaiz Umar Farooq have called for a ‘Kasmir Bandh’ after the terror attacks.
The attack happened in the midst of US Vice President JD Vance’s four-day visit to India and PM Narendra Modi’s Saudi Arabia visit. Both Indian PM and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salem condemned the attack. PM Modi also cut short his Saudi visit and returned to India.
According to reports, the gunmen, said to be six in numbers, dressed in camouflage outfits, struck around 1:30 pm in Baisaran meadow (also known as Mini Switzerland) as the tourists were enjoying the afternoon view. The attackers reportedly asked the victims their names before opening fire. In one chilling account, a woman told news agency PTI that her husband was shot in the head and seven others were injured nearby. Visuals from Pahalgam showed bodies lying on the ground as their relatives scream for help.
An Indian Navy officer was among those killed in the deadly terror attack. The officer has been identified as Lieutenant Vinay Narwal (26). He got married on April 16 and was on leave. Like him, people from across the country who had gone to Pahalgam for vacations were massacred on Tuesday by the terrorists.
PM Modi strongly condemned the attack and wrote on X, “I strongly condemn the terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. I pray that the injured recover at the earliest. All possible assistance is being provided to those affected. 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.”
Home Minister Amit Shah flew to Srinagar and visited Pahalgam and met the families affected by the terror attack.
“Every Indian feels the pain of losing loved ones in the terrorist attack in Pahalgam. This sorrow cannot be expressed in words. I assure all these families and the entire nation that these terrorists who killed innocent people will not be spared at all,” he wrote on X.
U.S. President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were among world leaders who condemned the terror attack, expressing solidarity with India.
