Terror Attack on Domestic Tourists in Pahalgam, Kashmir
Authorities have told at least two dozen individuals have been murdered as gunmen opened fire on a group of domestic visitors to a well-known beauty area under Indian-administered Kashmir. The assault happened at Pahalgam, a charming Himalayan town sometimes referred to as the “Switzerland of India”. Omar Abdullah, the region’s chief minister, claimed the attack was “much larger than anything we have seen directed at civilians in recent years”. According to reports, some of the injured are in severe condition while others are just wounded. Among foreign leaders denouncing the attacks were US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and EU chief Ursula Von der Leyen. “Very troubling information coming from Kashmir. With India against Terrorism, the United States stands strong,”Trump remarked on Truth Social.
While Putin offered “sincere condolences” for the results of a “brutal crime,” von der Leyens termed the Kashmir deaths a “vile terrorist attack”.
Cutting off his trip to Saudi Arabia in response to the incident, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared the attackers will “be brought to justice”. “Our will to combat terrorism is unchangeable and it will get even stronger,” Modi said in an X statement.
Given three and a half decades of conflict, Tuesday’s strike is unique in that visitors have hardly ever been targeted, particularly on such a scale. On Tuesday, Home Minister Amit Shah headed to Srinagar, the main city in Kashmir, to convene an emergency security conference. Manoj Sinha, the Lieutenant Governor of the area, reported that police and troops had been sent to the site. Nobody has admitted responsibility for the incident. Although violence has decreased recently, the Muslim-majority area has long-standing insurgency going back to 1989.
Three miles (5km) from Pahalgam, the attack happened in Baisaran, a mountain-top meadow. Inspector General of Jammu and Kashmir Police Vidi Kumar Birdi said that vehicles cannot reach the scene of the incident. A Gujarati visitor who belonged to a group shot upon claimed that following the unexpected incident, anarchy broke out and everyone started running, screaming and sobbing. While in other footage victims can be heard stating that the gunman had picked out non-Muslims, video footage provided by Indian media sources seems to show Indian forces dashing towards the scene of the incident, footage on social media seems to show bodies on a meadow surrounded by people crying and begging for aid. Police claimed many visitors with gunshot injuries had been brought to hospitals. Soldiers are halting cars at checkpoints after the area has been designated as cordon. The Indian army’s joint search with Jammu and Kashmir police is still under progress. According Indian media, several demonstrations have been planned on Wednesday.
Background and Context of the Kashmir Conflict
Tens of thousands of people, including those of civilians and security forces, have been claimed by an armed separatist insurgency opposing Indian control in the region during the 1990s. Following India’s freedom from Britain, partition, and Pakistan’s founding in 1947, the Himalayan area was split. Having fought two wars and a short battle over the territory in the decades afterward, the two nuclear-armed powers both assert ownership of it whole. Permanently stationed in the territory are around 500,000 Indian soldiers. Though there are still instances of violence, the administration says the security situation has improved and violence has dropped after Modi took Kashmir’s partial autonomy away in 2019.
Nine people were killed and thirty-three injured when extremists opened fire on a bus carrying Hindu pilgrims in June 2024, the last significant attack on civilians. At least 46 troops were killed in 2019 by a suicide bomber in Indian-administered Kashmir, which also spurred Indian airstrikes on targets in Pakistan. Popular both locally and abroad, Pahalgam is a tourist destination; in recent years the government has worked to boost more travel to the area. Official estimates state that 3.5 million visitors visiting Kashmir in 2024.