Tourists Were Enjoying Pony Rides In The Meadows When Gunmen Struck: How Pahalgam Attack Unfolded
Eyewitnesses said two to three gunmen in military fatigues started firing indiscriminately, triggering fear and confusion among the tourists holidaying in the Baisaran valley
Tourists were enjoying pony rides in the long lush green meadows of Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam when terrorists opened fire on them. A top intelligence source told News18 that 28 people, including foreign nationals, were killed and several injured in the terror attack on Tuesday.
The incident, which Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said is “much larger than anything we’ve seen directed at civilians in recent years", took place at a prime tourist location in South Kashmir’s Baisaran valley that is often dubbed as ‘mini Switzerland’.
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Eyewitnesses said two to three gunmen in military fatigues started firing indiscriminately, triggering fear and confusion among the tourists holidaying at the spot, which has served as a backdrop to a number of Bollywood films in the 1980s.
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Police sources said the attack started around 2.30 pm as terrorists emerged from the dense pine forest surrounding the valley and started firing at a group of 40 tourists. This was followed by scenes of despair with panicked tourists frantically asking for help from locals to save their loved ones. Many tourists were spotted covered in blood waiting for assistance, while some lay motionless on the ground.
“I was with my wife when the attack happened. I spotted two gunmen, who opened fire. There was a lot of fire," an eyewitness told News18, who was injured in the attack and was evacuated by a local resident.
Authorities pressed a chopper into service for the evacuation of the injured persons. Officials said some of the injured were brought down from the meadows by local people on their ponies. Some eyewitnesses, however, claimed that as soon as the bullets started flying, the handful of locals who earn a livelihood from tourism ran for safety leaving the tourists as sitting ducks.
Security personnel, who took time to reach the site as the road is non-motorable, have now cordoned off the area and are carrying out a massive anti-terrorist operation to hunt down the assailants, officials said.
Government sources further said a high-level security meeting by Union Home Minister Amit Shah is set to take place, the sources said. He will land in Srinagar after 7 pm, they said.
The sources said doctors and other hospital staff have been deputed to Pahalgam in wake of the terror attack. The CRPF and BSF have intensified their operations in J&K while restricting administrative movement. Deployments have been placed at 15 sites, they added.
WHAT WAS THE MOTIVE?
The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, has claimed responsibility on social media for the attack. Highly placed government sources said the motive could be to carry out a “spectacular" attack during the visit of JD Vance. They said there was prior intelligence that there may be a group of Lashkar terrorists in the Baisaran valley.
The sources further said intelligence agencies had warned about a “hot summer" in Jammu and Kashmir this year. In light of this, Shah, the home secretary and top intelligence officials had all recently visited J&K.
The timing of the attack does not bode well as the tourist season has set in and, soon, J&K will also begin preparations for the 38-day Amarnath Yatra, which is scheduled to begin on July 3.
The location of the attack has utmost significance not only because it is scenic and attracts tourists in droves but also because it is a base for the Amarnath Yatra. Summer is the best time to visit the Kashmir valley, but a terror attack such as this can disrupt tourist footfall and local businesses.
Baisaran is a major tourist place in Pahalgam besides being a campsite for trekkers who want to move further up to Tulian Lake. The area is accessible through ponies from Pahalgam. Lakhs travel to the Amarnath cave shrine from the twin routes — the traditional 48-km Pahalgam route in the Anantnag district and the 14-km shorter but steep Baltal route in Ganderbal district.
IS PAHALGAM A PRIME TARGET FOR TERRORISTS?
The Pahalgam incident is one of the deadliest attacks on civilians in recent years in J&K. Attacks on tourists in Kashmir have been rare in recent years, but not unknown. Moreover, terrorists have carried out a number of attacks in Pahalgam as it is a major tourist spot and an Amarnath base camp.
The last deadly terror attack in Pahalgam took place in the Amarnath base camp in 2000 and claimed more than 30 lives. At least 60 people were injured in the incident. There were two other major attacks in the early 2000s.
At least 11 persons were killed in a terror attack in 2002 in the Pahalgam area, while in 2001, 13 persons were killed and 15 others injured in an attack on pilgrims at Sheshnag.
In more recent times, eight pilgrims were killed in a terror attack as they were on the way home from the Amarnath shrine in 2017 while, last year in May, a tourist couple from Rajasthan was injured in a firing incident by terrorists at Yannar in Pahalgam.
(With inputs from Arunima, Ieshan Wani and agencies)
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