INDIA SEARCHES FOR GUNMEN AFTER 26 KILLED IN KASHMIR’S PAHALGAM

Wed 23 April 2025:

Indian security forces are searching for the gunmen behind an attack on tourists in Pahalgam, Indian-administered Kashmir, that killed 26 people, all men – the deadliest such incident in decades in the disputed region.

Federal Home Minister Amit Shah visited the area, placed a wreath on the coffins of the victims and met families of some of the dead.

All the dead were listed as residents of India – many from across the country – except one living in neighbouring Nepal.

A little-known armed group, Kashmir Resistance Front (TRF), claimed responsibility for the attack in a social media message. It expressed discontent that more than 85,000 “outsiders” had been settled in the region, spurring what it called a “demographic change”.

The tourists killed were almost all civilians, including an Indian Navy officer from the northern state of Haryana on his honeymoon.

Two senior police officers told The Associated Press that at least four gunmen fired at dozens of tourists from close range.

The attack in Kashmir’s southern district of Anantnag prompted anger across India. It came amid the peak tourist season as hundreds of thousands of tourists are holidaying in the region, which has been racked by a three-decade armed rebellion.

Soon after the attack, teams of police and paramilitary troops rushed to the spot to evacuate the wounded tourists and launch a manhunt for the attackers. Indian Home Minister Amit Shah, along with the country’s top security brass, rushed to Kashmir, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi cut short a visit to Saudi Arabia to return to New Delhi, where he held a meeting on Wednesday morning to craft India’s response.

The attack also unfolded as India is hosting US Vice President JD Vance, who arrived on Monday and is scheduled to leave on Thursday.

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What happened?

Pahalgam, which means “valley of shepherds” in Kashmiri, is one of the most visited tourist destinations in the region, located about 50km [31 miles] from the main city of Srinagar.

On Tuesday, witnesses told Al Jazeera that the area was bustling with tourists. At about 2:45pm, a group of armed men in camouflage clothes emerged from a nearby forest, an official said, requesting anonymity to discuss details that security forces have not formally made public.

The attackers “opened indiscriminate fire at Baisaran meadow, a scenic uphill area accessible only by foot or pony rides,” the official said. Many tourists were caught off guard as the sudden volley of bullets rang out.

Simran Chandani, a tourist from Nagpur in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, said that she was not sure she would survive the attack.

“We were preparing to leave after having tea and maggi (a popular pre-packaged, ready-to-eat noodle snack)” when the attack started, she said, describing Pahalgam as “mini-Switzerland”.

Then it all changed.  “I saw a rush of people coming down, we thought the balloon had burst, people were pushing each other, who told us an attack had happened,” she recalled, adding that mostly men were fired upon.

She joined the others in trying to escape. “I was taking the name of God and running,” Chandani said.

Omar Abdullah, chief minister of Indian-administered Kashmir, said the attack had been “much larger than anything we’ve seen directed at civilians in recent years”.

“This attack on our visitors is an abomination,” Abdullah said in a statement after the attack on Tuesday. “The perpetrators of this attack are animals, inhuman and worthy of contempt.”

Who claimed responsibility for the attack?

A statement issued in the name of the Resistance Front (TRF), which is believed to be an offshoot of Pakistani-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility for the attack.

The statement linked the attacks to the thousands of residency permits being handed over to Indian citizens, permitting them to live and work in Kashmir. However, Al Jazeera could not independently confirm the statement’s authenticity.

The Indian government had stripped Kashmir’s semi-autonomous status in 2019, asserting more federal control and splitting the former state into two union territories. The move escalated political tensions in the region and paved the way for the Indian government to issue residence permits to non-Kashmiris, which had previously been banned.

Modi returns to New Delhi, says perpetrators will be ‘brought to justice’

A team of India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) officers has arrived at the site of the attack in Pahalgam to assist the Kashmir Police in their investigation, India’s ANI news agency reports.

According to sources who spoke to ANI, the NIA team will assisting the regional police in their investigation.

The Chinese foreign ministry has offered “sincere sympathies” following the attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir.

“We mourn the victims and extend our sincere sympathies to the families of the victims and the injured,” foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said, adding China “strongly condemns this attack”.

‘Gunmen aimed to draw global attention’