The incident occurred at around 3 pm when terrorists came down from the mountain in Baisaran valley and started firing at the tourists who frequent the place
Indian Army personnel near the site of the Pahalgam terror attack (Pic/PTI)
Terrorists opened fire at a famed meadow near Pahalgam town on Tuesday afternoon, killing at least 26 people, mostly tourists, in the deadliest attack in the valley since the Pulwama strike in 2019. The deceased included two foreigners and two locals, a high-ranking official said, without getting into details.
The incident occurred at around 3 pm when terrorists came down from the mountain in Baisaran valley and started firing at the tourists who frequent the place which is often dubbed as ‘mini Switzerland’ because of its long lush green meadows.
The toll is still being ascertained, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said while describing the terror attack as “much larger than anything we’ve seen directed at civilians in recent years”.
Armed terrorists came into the grassland, dubbed “mini Switzerland”, and started firing at tourists milling around eateries, taking pony rides or picnicking, officials and eyewitnesses said.
As news of the attack spread, The Resistance Front (TRF), a shadow group of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror group, claimed responsibility.
The officials said it was possible members of the terror group crossed over from Kishtwar in Jammu and reached Baisaran through Kokernag in south Kashmir.
More than 30 persons were killed and 60 others injured in a terror attack on Amarnath base camp in Pahalgam in 2000.
A year later, 13 persons were killed and 15 others injured in an attack on Amarnath pilgrims at Sheshnag while 11 persons were killed in another attack in 2002 in the Pahalgam area.
Eight pilgrims were killed in a terror attack in 2017 as they were on the way home from Amarnath shrine.
A tourist couple from Rajasthan was injured in a firing incident by terrorists at Yannar in Pahalgam in May last year.
Security beefed up
Security has been beefed up across Jammu as various outfits have called for protests on Wednesday to condemn a deadly terror attack on tourists in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam tourist resort, officials said.
Officials said a high-level security meeting, jointly chaired by Jammu Divisional Commissioner Ramesh Kumar and Inspector General of Police, Jammu, Bhim Sen Tuti, is underway at the Police Control Room here to chalk out a strategy to deal with the situation.
Additional police and paramilitary forces have already been deployed in sensitive areas as a precautionary measure to maintain peace and law and order, they said.
Emergency helpline
Jammu and Kashmir government on Tuesday set up a round-the-clock emergency helpline to assist tourists in the wake of the Pahalgam terrorist attack.
“A 24x7 emergency help desk has been established by Anantnag district administration for tourists requiring assistance or information. Tourists can contact 01932222337, 7780885759, 9697982527 or 6006365245 for information or assistance,” an official spokesperson said.
He said an emergency control room has been established in Srinagar as well. Tourists can contact 01942457543, 01942483651 or 7006058623 for assistance on the Pahalgam terror incident, he said.
PM Modi condemns
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that those behind the heinous act will be brought to justice. In a post on X, the prime minister said, “They (terrorists) will not be spared! Their evil agenda will never succeed. Our resolve to fight terrorism is unshakable and it will get even stronger.”
Anguished Shah reaches Srinagar
Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Srinagar to review security situation in Kashmir following the terrorist attack. “Anguished by the terror attack on tourists in Pahalgam, J&K. My thoughts are with the family members of the deceased. Those involved in this dastardly act of terror will not be spared, and we will come down heavily on the perpetrators with the harshest consequences,” Shah said.
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