Terrorists kill 26 people, mostly tourists in Pahalgam of Kashmir

     New Delhi, April 22, 2025: Terrorists today opened indiscriminate firing on tourists killing 26 people, mostly tourists in Pahalgam tourist destination of Kashmir Valley.

     This is said to be the deadliest attack in the Valley since the Pulwama strike in 2019.

     The 26 dead included two foreigners – from Nepal and UAE – and two locals, media reports said.

     Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah described the terror attack as “much larger than anything we’ve seen directed at civilians in recent years”.

     When the tourist and trekking season was picking up momentum in the valley, the terrorists also attacked when the US Vice President J D Vance is visiting India, the reports said.

      Baisaran, about six kilometres from the resort town of Pahalgam, is an expansive meadow ringed by dense pine forests and mountains and a favourite with visitors from across the country and the world.

     Armed terrorists came into the grassland, dubbed ‘mini Switzerland’, and started firing at tourists milling around eateries, taking pony rides or just picnicking, officials and eyewitnesses said. At least 20 people were injured in the strike in the volatile Kashmir Valley where tourists have so far mostly been spared.

     Union Home Minister Amit Shah briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a visit to Saudi Arabia, and rushed to Srinagar in the evening and took stock of the security situation

     “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,” the prime minister said on X.

     “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 added.

     With Baisaran accessible only by foot or horses, choppers were deployed to evacuate the injured. The families of those killed and injured were taken to the government-owned Pahalgam Club under tight security.

     On February 14, 2019, 40 CRPF personnel were killed in a suicide attack in south Kashmir’s Pulwama area. Since then, there have been other terror attacks but none as serious.