Over 20 people, mainly tourists, were killed on Tuesday in a terrorist attack in the Baisaran Valley area of Pahalgam, located in the Anantnag district of the Kashmir Valley of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).
Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in a tweet on X, said, ”The death toll is still being ascertained; this attack is much larger than anything we’ve seen directed at civilians in recent years,” he said .
However, a police official told a news agency, “Over twenty tourists were killed indiscriminately by terrorists, and the death toll could be higher as several persons are reportedly injured in the attack.”
Security forces were immediatley doployed after the gunshots were reportedly heard at a popular tourist destination, often referred to as “mini-Switzerland”,
The officials said, ” The site is accessible only on foot or horseback, making the rescue and response efforts more challenging, and a helicopter is being used for bringing down the injured.”
Hours after the attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a visit to Saudi Arabia, spoke to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who immediately rushed to visit the site.
Strongly condemning the attack on tourists, the PM tweeted on X,” “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; those behind the heinous act will be brought to justice…they will not be spared,” the PM said.
