Pahalgam Terror Attack: 26 Killed, Including Two Foreigners In Deadliest Kashmir Incident Since 2019

In one of the deadliest terror attacks in Kashmir post-2019, at least 26 civilians, including two foreigners, were killed at an iconic tourist site in Pahalgam. The government is yet to announce the official death toll. The attack is believed to have been carried out by The Resistance Front, an offshoot of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba group. 

Since news of the attack broke out, Home Minister Amit Shah and J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha left Delhi for Srinagar to take stock of the situation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on an official visit to Saudi Arabia, strongly condemned the attack and vowed not to spare the perpetrators. “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,” he said on X.

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The attack took place around 2.30 in the afternoon at the Baisaran valley, an area in the upper meadows of Pahalgam, accessible by hike or on horse. Pahalgam, located 89 km from Srinagar, is a popular tourist attraction, known for its lush green meadows. 

A senior official from the CRPF told 바카라 that unidentified gunmen emerged from the thickly forested area and they were wearing military camoflague. Tourists were initially confused by the uniforms. Amid the confusion, the men started shooting at the tourists, who were confused by the gunmen wearing military fatigues. Initially they Videos from the spot, recorded by the locals, showed distressed women calling for help to save their partners. 

Visuals from Baisaran showed at least eight dead bodies— all men, lying in a pool of blood on the meadows, while their family members searched for help.

Asawari Jagdale, a tourist from Maharashtra who was at the site when the attack took place told Lokmat News that terrorists asked male tourists to read the holy Kalma to verify if they were Muslims and fired shots at those who didn’t know. At least five tourists from Maharashtra were confirmed dead by Tuesday night. Jagdale's uncle and father were shot at, she told the local media from Pahalgam club were the injured were taken.

On Telegram, supporters of TRF celebrated the attack on ‘Hindu settlers.’

“We didn’t harm any locals, women, or children. Boys first confirmed identity of #Hindu Settlers then dispatch them to hell from #Pahalgam (sic),” a message on one of the groups read. Another message said, “You Hindus aren’t welcome in Pahalgam or any other part of Kashmir.”  

Security experts claimed the high casualties and the manner in which the attack was executed at a popular tourist location, suggests intelligence failure. In the last year, terrorists have made multiple attempts to target Hindus and tourists in the region. In May last year, terrorists opened fire on a tourist couple in Anantnag, near Pahalgam. The following month, a bus carrying pilgrims to the annual Amarnath Yatra was attacked, resulting in the deaths of nine Hindu pilgrims and injuries to 33 others in Reasi district. In October, terrorists targeted an Indian Army vehicle in the Bota Pathri area of Baramulla district, near the popular ski resort of Gulmarg. 

Intelligence reports have also pointed that the new batches of foreign terrorists infiltrating Indian territory from Jammu라이브 바카라 Pir Panjal range were highly trained in jungle warfare and adept at using high end encrypted communication devices, and drones to evade surveillance.

The TRF group is among the new militant groups which surfaced after the abrogation of J&K라이브 바카라 special status, Article 370 and Article 35a of the Constitution. Security officials believe TRF is an offshoot of LeT and is positioned as a homegrown Kashmiri group by Pakistani intelligence services to evade scrutiny under the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)—a global watchdog on terror financing. Pakistan was taken off the increased monitoring under the FATF "grey list" for money laundering and terror financing in October 2022. 

TRF has consistently targeted civilians in Kashmir as a warning to outsiders against settling in Kashmir. There is widespread fear of ‘demographic change’ in the Muslim majority Kashmir valley, after the Center introduced new land laws, allowing all Indian citizens to buy non-agricultural land in J&K. The former special status protected the rights of Kashmiris by wresting land ownership exclusively with the state citizens and barred non-Kashmiris from buying any kind of land.

The group had first claimed responsibility for an attack at Srinagar라이브 바카라 Lal Chowk on 12 October 2019, wherein eight civilians were injured. In October 2021, it issued a threat against the “outsider domicile holders, stooges and collaborators,” warning them of the consequences as they were an enemy of the Kashmiri struggle. The group singled out Kashmiri Pandit employees who were recruited under the Prime Minister's Development Package, labelling them as "pawns of Delhi." 

Post 2019, militancy and terrorism have undergone a major shift in J&K. While the centre and security agencies have declared that terrorism is on decline, there has been a notable shift in the tactics and targets of terrorist groups. This shift is primarily evident in the relocation of operations from the Kashmir Valley to the Jammu region, targeted killings of migrant labourers and the Kashmiri Pandit minority, and reduced involvement of local Kashmiri youth in the insurgency.

The new batches of foreign terrorists infiltrating Indian territory from Jammu라이브 바카라 Pir Panjal range are believed to be highly trained in jungle warfare under the supervision of Pakistani army and are adept at using high end encrypted communication devices, and drones to evade security. 

The rise in targeted attacks based on religious identity terror groups, according to security experts, is aimed at creating fear and instability, and is also partly due to a shortage of weapons needed to confront trained police or military personnel. After 2019, the government imposed a heavy crackdown against terrorist groups and over ground workers providing logistical support, through mass arrests and choking financial supply lines.