Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Apr 22: Shrieks for help pierced the skies of Baisaran meadows in this south Kashmir resort as many tourists lay motionless in pools of blood following one of the deadliest terror attacks on civilians in recent years in J-K.
Heavily armed terrorists walked out of the woods of Baisaran, a meadow atop a hill in Pahalgam, and surrounded a group of around 50 tourists. The terrorists started firing on the tourists indiscriminately, leaving multiple people dead and injuring at least 20.
Witnesses 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. “My husband was shot in the head while seven others were also injured in the attack,” a woman said. She pleaded for help in evacuating the injured to the hospital as the famed meadows are only accessible by foot or ponies, authorities had to summon choppers for the evacuation of the injured, officials said.
However, before the helicopter arrived at the scene, some of the injured were brought down by local people on their ponies. The local tourist guides and ponywallahs consoled the survivors even as they summoned more people to evacuate the injured tourists on their shoulders to the nearest motorable point.
Distressing visuals doing the rounds on social media showed several women pleading for help. “We were having a snack when a man came and shot my husband,” said one of them, as another, with blood splattered on her face, looked helplessly at the man recording the video. Several people were seen lying motionless on the ground. A visibly shaken child was also seen with the group of tourists who survived the attack.
Another woman, standing next to a severely injured man, pleaded, “Please save my husband. For god’s sake, save him.” The heartbreak continues as another cry for help was heard, “Please, someone take him to the hospital. Please, please help.” She was standing next to an injured man with his shirt soaked in blood.
.Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, calling the perpetrators of the attack “animals”, said the attack was “larger than anything we have seen directed at civilians in recent years”. He also said that arrangements were being made at the hospital for the injured. An anti-terror operation has been launched to neutralise terrorists, said Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who said the government’s resolve to fight terrorism is “unshakable”, held a telephonic conversation with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and asked him to visit the Union Territory and take all suitable steps. Immediately afterwards, Mr Shah left for Srinagar.
As soon as the news of the attack broke out, the roads and streets of Pahalgam wore a deserted look as the tourists, who had come in numbers, left the resort town to safer places. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said the death count is still being ascertained. “This attack is much larger than anything we’ve seen directed at civilians in recent years,” he said on X.
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 video of the Pahalgam attack site emerged, showing several people bleeding and lying motionless on the ground while women tourists were wailing and looking for their near and dear ones. Some were too stunned to react and were being helped by locals.
The incident comes when Kashmir is witnessing a surge in tourist arrivals after reeling under militancy for years. Also, the 38-day Amarnath pilgrimage is scheduled to begin on July 3. Thousands of pilgrims from across the country travel to the Amarnath cave shrine from the twin routes — the traditional 48-km Pahalgam route in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district and the 14-km shorter but steep Baltal route in Ganderbal district. Baisaran is a major tourist place in Pahalgam besides being a campsite for trekkers who want to move further up to Tulian Lake.
The leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi lamented the “cowardly” terror attack and demanded the centre take accountability instead of making “hollow claims” about restoring normalcy by ridding the former state of terrorism. Mr Gandhi said reports of the attack on tourists were extremely heart-breaking.
“… instead of making hollow claims on the situation being normal in J&K, the government should now take accountability and take concrete steps, so such barbaric incidents do not happen in the future, and innocent Indians do not lose their lives like this,” he said.
Mr Gandhi’s party boss, Mallikarjun Kharge, and his sister and senior leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have also responded, calling the attack a “blot on humanity” and urging the ruling BJP to take decisive action against the terrorists.
In her post, Ms Gandhi Vadra called the practice of targeting civilians “a crime against humanity (and) is completely unacceptable. The whole country stands united against terrorism and strongly condemns it,” she said. The Congress has demanded action from the BJP, which had earlier said it would wipe out terrorism in J&K. Mr Shah speaking in Parliament last month, had spoken about how the Narendra Modi government had brought peace to the Kashmir Valley.
West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee also condemned the terror attack, saying the “act of violence is utterly reprehensible.” “I am deeply anguished by the brutal terrorist attack in the Pahalgam region of Anantnag, Jammu & Kashmir. My heartfelt condolences to the families of those who lost their lives, and prayers for the swift recovery of the injured,” she said on X. “This act of violence is utterly reprehensible and must not go unpunished.”
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has demanded the centre “ensure a secure environment in J&K” and make this “the highest level of priority. Only then can the lives of local residents and tourists remain safe. Security fosters trust and the spirit of unity and integrity,” he said.
