ibn sultan
Pahalgam: Militants opened fire at a famed meadow near Kashmir’s Pahalgam town on Tuesday afternoon, killing 26 people, mostly tourists, in what is the deadliest attack in the Valley since the Pulwama strike in 2019.
The 26 dead included two foreigners and two locals, a high ranking official said without getting into details. The toll is still being ascertained, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said while describing the attack as “much larger than anything we’ve seen directed at civilians in recent years”.
The attack, which comes as US Vice President J D Vance is visiting India and just as the tourist and trekking season is picking up momentum, took place around 3 pm, officials 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.
Unknown militants 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.
Eyewitnesses painted a chilling picture of gunfire breaking the calm of a regular Tuesday afternoon with scores of people enjoying their day out. Cries for help were heard as lifeless bodies lay motionless in pools of blood.
Some put the number of attackers at five.
“My husband was shot in the head while seven others were also injured in the attack,” a woman survivor told PTI over phone.
The woman did not identify herself but pleaded for help in evacuating the injured to hospital.
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 another woman tourist.
The tourists gathered at Baisaran were from several states, including Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat. Among those killed was Karnataka businessman Manjunath Rao, who was from Shivamogga.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah condoled the death and called a meeting of officials. A team of officials from Karnataka left for Kashmir, an official statement said.
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.
The entire district administration and police force was mobilised and ambulances pressed into service.
Some of the injured were brought down from the meadow by local people on their ponies.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration set up 24X7 emergency control rooms in Anantnag and Srinagar.
“The death toll is still being ascertained so I don’t want to get into those details. They will be officially conveyed as the situation becomes clearer. Needless to say this attack is much larger than anything we’ve seen directed at civilians in recent years,” Abdullah said in a post on X.
Baisaran, a campsite for trekkers who then move further up to the Tulian lake, is accessible from Pahalgam either on foot or on horses. It offers a panoramic view of Pahalgam town and the Lidder valley.(Agencies)
