Tourists Trickling Back to Pahalgam, Search for Home-Grown Terrorists Intensified
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Apr 27: Even as tourists have just started trickling back to Pahalgam, the scene of the barbaric terror attack on the afternoon of April 22 killing 26 tourists, on Sunday, at least six more houses of the alleged active militants were dazed to the ground through controlled blasts, while more than 100 residences of alleged militant supporters were searched, and hundreds of local people were detained in Kashmir.
Undeterred by the terrorist attack, holidayers and tourists were seen returning to the picturesque resort town over the weekend, but what was once a bustling hub with 5,000 to 7,000 tourists daily, saw a dramatic dip to just 50-100 visitors in the last couple of days since the town and the shops reopened on Friday.
During the weekend, a heartening scene unfolded on the streets of Pahalgam as tourists strolled through the town, bringing a wave of resilience, optimism, a sense of normalcy and hope back to the region.
The town, which had remained shut from April 22 until Thursday, welcomed tourists again. The holidayers were seen taking pictures and clicking selfies at Pahalgam’s popular “selfie point” on the banks of the Lidder river.
Most tourists said since there was no ban or restriction on tourists visiting the town, they had decided to go ahead with their holiday plans. Hoteliers are also offering special discounts and some eating joints are offering a meal free with every meal ordered.
There were a few foreign tourists as well, mostly from Croatia and Serbia and said they did not feel any fear seeing the Indian army personnel stationed in good numbers in the area. They were seen exploring the streets of Pahalgam. Holding nothing back, they expressed their admiration for Kashmir’s natural beauty and its warm people.
“We are coming from Croatia and we are now three or four days here. We are feeling very safe, and your country is very beautiful. We don’t have any problem staying here. Kashmir is beautiful, very beautiful. It’s very nice, your country is different. We are very, very satisfied with your nature, and people are very kind. We are happy here. We are all 12 people, including two from Serbia and the others from Croatia,” a Croatian tourist, Ljiljana said.
On the Pahalgam attack, she added, “We heard about the incident one day before. We had decided we must go to Kashmir. We’re feeling very safe, we had no problem here everything is okay. It’s terrible what happened. I hope it will stop, in our country and the whole world.”
“It’s my 10th time in Kashmir and every time it’s fantastic. For me, it’s number one in the world, natural, soft people. My group is very happy; it’s their first time here, Croatian and Serbian people. I feel totally safe, no problem here. Everywhere, people say hello – zero, zero scared,” another tourist from Croatia, Vlatko, said.
A tourist from Serbia, Ivana, further shared her gratitude to the people of Kashmir. “We are now off to see a little bit more of your beautiful valley and your beautiful country and nature. Thank you very much for having us here. We heard about the incident before leaving our countries, but despite everything, we decided to come. This is a journey we have been planning for years. We knew the country was beautiful, and we expected only good things. Thank you, Kashmir,” she said.
As exit deadline for Pakistani nationals visiting India is ending on Sunday, a rush was seen at the Attari – Wagah border to return to their country by road. Around 272 Pakistani nationals have left India in the past two days through the Attari-Wagah border point and a few hundred more are expected to exit on Sunday when the deadline for the 12 categories of short-term visa holders of the neighbouring nation ends, an official said. As many as 629 Indians, including 13 diplomats and officials, have returned from Pakistan through the international border crossing located in Punjab.
A Pakistan national teenager left India without her mother, who can’t accompany her to Pakistan being an Indian. “My mother’s an Indian and she is not being allowed to accompany us to Pakistan,” bawled teenage Sarita, not knowing when she could see her in person. She, her brother and father were among the hundreds queued up at the Attari border point to exit India on Sunday as the clock ticked. Medical visas issued to Pakistani nationals are valid till April 29.
The ‘Leave India’ notice to the Pakistani nationals was issued by the government after the Pahalgam massacre. The deadline for exiting India for those holding SAARC visas was April 26. For those carrying medical visas, the deadline is April 29. The 12 categories of visas whose holders have to leave India by Sunday are — visa on arrival, business, film, journalist, transit, conference, mountaineering, student, visitor, group tourist, pilgrim and group pilgrim.
However, those having long-term and diplomatic or official visas were exempted from the ‘Leave-India’ order. According to officials, 191 Pakistani nationals left India through the Attari-Wagah border on April 25 and 81 more exited on April 26. As many as 287 Indians crossed into India from Pakistan On April 25, and altogether 342 Indians, including 13 diplomats and officials, returned from Pakistan through the Attari-Wagah border on April 26, officials said.
Some of the Pakistanis might have left India through airports too, they said, pointing out that since India does not have direct air connectivity with Pakistan, they might have left for other countries. Officials said the highest number of Pakistanis with short-term visas were staying in Maharashtra. Their number was pegged at around 1,000, they said. The State’s minister Yogesh Kadam on Saturday said the 1,000 Pakistani nationals with short-term visas have been asked to leave India.
Around 5,050 Pakistani citizens have been living in Maharashtra and most of them are on long-term visas. Of these, around 2,450 were in Nagpur, 1,100 in Thane, 390 in Jalgaon, 290 in Navi Mumbai, 290 in Pimpri Chinchwad, 120 in Amravati and 15 in Mumbai, officials said. Interestingly, 107 Pakistani nationals, who were staying in Maharashtra were, untraceable, according to officials.
In the southern state of Telangana, police chief Jitender cited official records to say that as many as 208 Pakistani nationals were staying in the state, mostly in Hyderabad. Among them, 156 hold long-term visas, 13 short-term visas and 39 were with the travel document for medical and business purposes.
There were 104 Pakistani nationals in the southern coastal State of Kerala, of whom 99 were on long-term visas. The remaining five, who were on either tourist or medical visas, have left the country. Central India’s Madhya Pradesh had around 228 visiting Pakistani nationals, many of whom have left the country already, officials said. On the other hand, around 12 Pakistanis have been identified in Odisha and all of them have been asked to follow the deadline set for them to leave the country.
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has said three Pakistani nationals, who were in the State on short-term visas, have been asked to leave. Seven Pakistanis were in Gujarat on short-term visas — five in Ahmedabad and one each in Bharuch and Vadodara. They have either left India or are leaving by Sunday, officials said. Besides, 438 Pakistani nationals are in the western State on long-term visas and they include Hindus who have applied for Indian citizenship.
In the north, Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police Prashant Kumar said on Saturday that the process of sending back all categories of Pakistani citizens visiting the State who have been ordered to leave India has been completed. One Pakistani national is still in the State and he will depart for Pakistan on April 30, the DGP said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday called up the Chief Ministers of all States and asked them to ensure that no Pakistani stays in India beyond the deadline set for leaving the country. After Mr Shah’s telephonic conversations with the Chief Ministers, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan held a video conference with the chief secretaries and asked them to ensure that all Pakistani nationals whose visas were revoked must leave India by the deadline fixed.
