The Pahalgam Attack
What Happened?
On April 22, 2025, a brutal terrorist attack shook Pahalgam’s Baisaran Valley, where five armed terrorists opened fire on unarmed tourists, killing 26 civilians—most of them Hindus from other parts of India. Eyewitnesses reported the attackers interrogated people about their religion, demanded recitation of Islamic verses, and even checked for circumcision to identify non-Muslims. This horrifying display of religious profiling and mass execution was not a random act of violence—it was a targeted massacre aimed at terrorizing non-Kashmiris and reinforcing extremist ideology under the false guise of "resistance."
The Resistance Front (TRF), a known proxy of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, initially claimed responsibility, revealing the ideological motive behind the attack: to prevent demographic changes in Kashmir post-Article 370. India rightly responded with military operations, arrests, and diplomatic action, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty. But beyond retaliation, this attack calls for national unity and reflection.
Personal Accounts: Stories of Grief, Courage, and Survival
Asavari (26): Her father (Santosh Jagdale) and uncle were dragged out of a tent after gunmen shouted “Chaudhari tu bahar aa ja”. Her father was asked to recite an Islamic verse. When he couldn't, he was shot three times.
Himanshi Narwal: On honeymoon with her husband, Indian naval officer Vinay Narwal, who was killed after confirming he was not Muslim. They had been married just days earlier.
Pallavi Rao: Witnessed her husband, Manjunath Rao, being gunned down. When she pleaded to be killed too, a terrorist said, “Go tell this to Modi.”
Prasanna Kumar Bhat and family: Survived by escaping through a fence with 35–40 others, guided by his brother, a senior Army officer. Hid in a forest pit for an hour.
Veenu Bhai: Survivor who fractured his arm while fleeing. Recalled chaos, screaming children, and desperate attempts to escape.
JS Chandramouli: Retired banker separated from his group in the panic. His body was later found riddled with bullets.
Prashant Satpathy: Killed while getting off a ropeway with his wife, who witnessed the shooting.
Atul Mone, Sanjay Lele, Hemant Joshi: Three cousins from Maharashtra, killed while on a family trip.
State-Sponsored Terrorism: A Pattern of Denial and Deceit
This massacre was proudly claimed by The Resistance Front (TRF). Their motive? To deter non-Kashmiris from settling in the region post-Article 370. This wasn't resistance—it was religious terrorism. And Pakistan’s role in sponsoring such terror is no longer just an accusation; it's an admission.
Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif openly admitted to supporting groups like LeT, stating, “We have been doing this dirty work for the U.S. for three decades… that was a mistake.” Yet he added “Lashkar-e-Taiba is a name from the past… it does not exist,” continuing Pakistan’s long history of denial, even in the face of mounting evidence and admissions.
In response to India's counter-terror Operation Sindoor, Pakistan launched unprovoked cross-border shelling, killing civilians:
In Poonch, 16 people were killed, and 59 injured.
Zain (12) and Zoya (14), twins, were killed in Pakistani shelling. These were innocent children, not combatants.
Pakistan continues to shield terrorists while receiving $2.3 billion in funding from the IMF, a cruel irony as innocent lives are lost to terror funded indirectly through international support.
Failure of Governance: Where Was the Protection?
Grief quickly turned into anger among survivors and families, many of whom expressed bitter disillusionment with government inaction:
Himanshi Narwal’s sister-in-law lamented, “No one came. If the army had been there, he could have survived.”
A young child, to multiple journalists, said, “A huge terrorist attack happened, and the government knows nothing.”
In a region known for repeated attacks, this failure to ensure safety raises haunting questions. Why were civilians unguarded in a high-risk area? How could such a large-scale attack go undetected? The state must be held accountable for both intelligence failures and the lack of security presence during peak tourist hours.
A Call to Unity and Remembrance
This was not merely an attack on tourists—it was a calculated assault on India's secular identity, aimed at dividing the nation by religion and region. It must be answered not only through decisive counter-terrorism but through remembrance, justice, and unwavering solidarity.
It is owed to the victims that their voices are heard, their pain acknowledged, and their stories remembered. To forget this would be to accept it. To remember is to resist. Let this tragedy be more than a statistic—let it stand as a lasting reminder of the injustices committed by the hands of extremist violence and those who enable it.
For more information about the Pahalgam attack:
Rage and despair after brazen attack kills 26 in Indian-administered Kashmir
Pakistan warns Kashmir row could lead to 'all-out war' with India | The World with Yalda Hakim
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