Pahalgam (J-K), Apr 22 (PTI) Terrorists opened fire at a popular tourist spot near Kashmir’s Pahalgam town on Tuesday afternoon, killing 26 people, mostly holidayers from other states, in what is the deadliest attack in the Valley since the Pulwama strike in 2019.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi cut short his two-day visit to Saudi Arabia and decided to return to New Delhi on Tuesday night, as the terror attack sent shockwaves in the country and drew widespread condemnation and outrage. He was originally scheduled to return to India on Wednesday night.

The 26 dead included two foreigners – from UAE and Nepal – and two locals, officials said.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah described the terror attack as “much larger than anything we’ve seen directed at civilians in recent years”.

Officials said that 22 of the 26 victims have been identified and efforts are being made to ascertain the identity of the other four.

Among the dead were tourists from several states including Karnataka, Maharashtra, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. At least one person from Gujarat, three from Tamil Nadu and two from Maharashtra were among the injured.

The attack, which comes as US Vice President J D Vance is visiting India and just as the tourist and trekking season is picking up momentum, took place around 3 pm in Baisaran, about six kilometres from the resort town of Pahalgam.

It is an expansive meadow ringed by dense pine forests and mountains and a favourite with visitors from across the country and the world.

Terrorists came into the grassland, dubbed ‘mini Switzerland’, and started firing at tourists milling around eateries, taking pony rides or just picnicking, officials and eyewitnesses said.

As news of the terror attack targeting tourists in Kashmir spread, The Resistance Front (TRF), a shadow group of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror group, claimed responsibility.

Officials said it was possible the terror group members could have crossed over from Kishtwar in Jammu and reached Baisaran through Kokernag in south Kashmir.

Various organisations and parties in Jammu and Kashmir called for a bandh on Wednesday against the terror attack in the volatile Kashmir Valley where tourists have so far mostly been spared.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and rushed to Srinagar in the evening where he took stock of the security situation.

Officials said Shah is likely to visit Pahalgam on Wednesday.

“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,” the prime minister said on X.

“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 added.

US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni were among world leaders who condemned the terror attack and expressed solidarity with India.

Eyewitnesses painted a chilling picture of gunfire breaking the calm of a regular Tuesday afternoon with scores of people enjoying their day out. Cries for help were heard as lifeless bodies lay motionless in pools of blood.

Some put the number of attackers at five and claimed that they were dressed as security personnel.

“My husband was shot in the head while seven others were also injured in the attack,” a woman survivor told PTI over phone.

Pune businessman Santosh Jagdale, 54, was asked to come out of his tent and recite an Islamic verse. When he couldn’t, he was shot thrice: once in the head, then behind the ear and then his back, his daughter Asavari Jagdale told PTI.

After her father fell to the ground, the gunmen turned on her uncle who was lying next to her and shot him several times in the back.

Asavari, 26, said she does not know if her father and uncle are alive or among the dead. She, her mother and another female relative were spared, and locals and security forces evacuated them to Pahalgam Club where they remain clueless about the fate of the two men.

The terrorists blamed them for supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after which they made some statements to deny that Kashmiri militants kill innocent people, women and children, she said.

As gunshots rang out, there was panic and tourists ran for cover but there was no place to hide in the wide, open space, said another woman tourist.

A woman said terrorists first asked their names before shooting down the victims.

Manish Rajan, who was working with a central security agency and was at present posted in Hyderabad, was on holiday with his wife and children when he was shot dead in front of his family members.

Karnataka businessman Manjunath Rao, who was from Shivamogga, was also killed in the attack.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has directed Labour Minister Santosh Lad to oversee the entire operation to bring affected Kannadigas safely back to the state.

With Baisaran accessible only by foot or horses, choppers were deployed to evacuate the injured. The families of those killed and injured were taken to the government-owned Pahalgam Club under tight security.

The entire district administration and police force were mobilised and ambulances pressed into service.

Some of the injured were brought down from the meadow by local people on their ponies.

Army, CRPF and local police rushed to Baisaran, much sought after by filmmakers in the 1980s, after initial news came in of gunshots being heard, officials said.

A massive anti-terrorist operation has been launched to hunt down the assailants and security forces have fanned out in all directions, they said.

The Jammu and Kashmir administration set up 24X7 emergency control rooms in Anantnag and Srinagar.

“I’m shocked beyond belief. This attack on our visitors is an abomination. The perpetrators of this attack are animals, inhuman and worthy of contempt. No words of condemnation are enough. I send my sympathies to the families of the deceased,” Abdullah said on X.

The office of Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha said anti-terror operations had been launched to neutralise terrorists.

“Entire nation is angry & blood of our forces is boiling. I want to assure the nation that perpetrators of Pahalgam attack will have to pay a very heavy price for their heinous act. My heartfelt condolences to bereaved families,” it said on X.

Pahalgam town, which was teeming with tourists this morning, went into complete silence. Tourists began leaving in droves.

The incident comes when Kashmir is witnessing a surge in tourist arrivals after reeling under militancy for years.

On February 14, 2019, 40 CRPF personnel were killed in a suicide attack in south Kashmir’s Pulwama area. Since then, there have been other terror attacks but none as serious.

More than 30 people were killed in an attack on Amarnath base camp in Pahalgam in 2000.

A year later, 13 people died in a strike on Amarnath pilgrims at Sheshnag while 11 persons were killed in another attack in 2002 in the Pahalgam area.

A tourist couple from Rajasthan was injured in a firing incident by terrorists at Yannar in Pahalgam in May last year.

In March 2000 when then US president Bill Clinton was visiting India, terrorists killed 35 Sikhs in Chhattisinghpora in south Kasmir in March 2000.

Baisaran, a campsite for trekkers who then move further up to the Tulian Lake, is accessible from Pahalgam either on foot or on horses. It offers a panoramic view of Pahalgam town and the Lidder Valley. PTI MIJ VT SKL RT MIN NSD RT RT