New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah has landed in Srinagar to take stock of the situation after terrorists opened fire on tourists in Kashmir’s Pahalgam Tuesday afternoon. Sources in the defence and security establishment told ThePrint that at least 26 people were killed and several others injured in what is turning out to be one of the deadliest attacks in the valley in recent years.
Sources also said The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of the Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba has claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack, but security agencies are still in the process of verifying the claim.
The attack was reported from Baisaran Valley, a popular destination where hundreds of tourists visit the meadow on horseback daily, especially in this season.
A woman tourist made the initial call to the police control room at 2.45 pm stating that gunshots were heard in Baisaran, it is learnt. A police party was rushed to the spot along with personnel from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Army.
Asked if the men who opened fire had been identified, a J&K police source told ThePrint, “It is still unclear how many of them opened fire. They managed to escape from the spot.”
Pahalgam Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Qaiser Ali confirmed to ThePrint that an evacuation process is underway at the site of the incident.
“The path that leads to the meadow is very narrow. It can only be reached on horseback and many trekkers also take this route,” added the police source quoted earlier.
“The area has been cordoned off and an operation to identify the gunmen is on. The Army too has moved in,” the source said.
Condemning the attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote in a post on X that all possible assistance is being provided to those affected.
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.
Those behind this heinous act will be brought…
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 22, 2025
Reacting to the attack, J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah called it an “abomination”. “I’m shocked beyond belief. This attack on our visitors is an abomination. The perpetrators of this attack are animals, unhuman and worthy of contempt,” he wrote on X. He added that the “attack is much larger than anything we’ve seen directed at civilians in recent years”.
I’m shocked beyond belief. This attack on our visitors is an abomination. The perpetrators of this attack are animals, inhuman & worthy of contempt. No words of condemnation are enough. I send my sympathies to the families of the deceased. I’ve spoken to my colleague @sakinaitoo…
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) April 22, 2025
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while condemning the dastardly attack, wrote on X, “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 also said that he will “shortly leave for Srinagar to hold an urgent security review meeting with all the agencies”.
Anguished by the terror attack on tourists in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. 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.…
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) April 22, 2025
This is an updated version of the report
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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