The incident, which reportedly involved four gunmen, is the worst attack on civilians in India since the Mumbai shootings in 2008.
Pahalgam terror attack : Indian security forces braced themselves across far-reaching Himalayan terrains of Kashmir as the army and police hunted down the militants, who attacked and killed at least 26 tourists on Tuesday.
Police and armed forces of thousands converged into the site, setting up checkpoints, searching vehicles, as many businesses remained shut due to the religious-political calls.
“The operation for search is on, for what it is worth, with every endeavor at bringing the offenders to just ends,” said the Indian army in an official statement.
A not so popular militant faction, Kashmir Resistance, took responsibility for the assault, unlike many claims from other corners. It issued a statement over promotional social media sites expressing its discontent at what it called a “demographic change” brought by thousands of 85,000 “outsiders” settled in the region.
The attack which involved four gunmen reportedly happened at a meadow in the Pahalgam area of the beautiful Himalayan federal territory; it counted as the most deadly attack against the common populace in this part of the world since the Mumbai shootings of 2008. Of the dead, there were 25 Indians and one Nepalese national.
Meanwhile, the prime minister, Narendra Modi, cut short a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia and returned to New Delhi on Wednesday morning.
He held a meeting with his national security adviser, the foreign minister, and other senior officials immediately at the airport, while a special security cabinet meeting was called for later on Wednesday.
The incident is seen as a blow to what Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party have celebrated as a great victory in the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s semi-autonomous status and in restoring peace and development in the troubled Muslim-majority region.
Tuesday’s attack is seen as one of the greatest magnifying events of regional conflict where targeting tourists has become quite rare.
The last fatal incident came in the month of June 2024 when militants sent a bus carrying pilgrims Hindu plummeting into a gorge, killing at least nine and injuring thirty-three.
In a fresh note given out on Wednesday, the Kashmir Resistance said: “Those attacked on the Tuesday, were not at all common tourists; rather they were associated to and involved with Indian security agencies”.
The attack led to a rapid exodus of tourists from the region as the airlines put in place extra flights from Srinagar, summer capital of the territory. Local television showed images of tourists laden with luggage boarding taxis and filing out of a hotel in Srinagar.
“How can we go on with our travel in such a situation?” asked Sameer Bhardwaj, a tourist from New Delhi, to news agency ANI. “We need to give safety priority. We can travel when our minds are relaxed, but everyone is tensed here at this place. So we cannot go ahead with the travelling.”
Gulzar Ahmad, a taxi driver in Pahalgam, said: “This attack will affect our work, but we care more about loss of lives. Whatever we will do in the future, tourism is stained by this attack. The act has to be punished very strictly so that it does not happen again.”
The attack came in tandem with a four-day visit to India by the US vice-president, JD Vance, who described it as “devastating terrorist attack”.
A message of solidarity was expressed by Donald Trump on social media: “The United States stands strong with India against terrorism”.
Other global leaders condemned the attack, including the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni.
UN secretary general António Guterres said: “Attacks against civilians are unacceptable under any circumstances.
It is personal sad to see our guests leave from the valley, as Omar Abdullah, the region’s top elected official, posted on social networking site: Heartbreaking, seeing the exodus of our guests from the (Kashmir) valley after yesterday’s unfortunate terror attack in Pahalgam. But at the same time, we totally understand why people would want to leave.
He beat his added with a directive to his administration on the facilitation of a smooth exit for tourists.
Abdullah had stated recently in the regional assembly that 23 million tourists visited the region in 2024.
Since New Delhi, in 2019, revoked Kashmir’s limited autonomy and imposed communication blockade while jailing activists and political leaders, the disputed Himalayan region has seen a rise in targeted killings of Hindus, including migrant workers hailing from other Indian states.
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