PEHALGAM ATTACK
On 22 April 2025, five militants entered the Baisaran Valley meadow, which is located about 7 km (4.3 mi) from the Pahalgam town in Anantnag district.[52] The area is surrounded by dense pine forests on all sides, and is a popular spot for tourists;[53] it is only accessible by foot or horseback.[1] The region was not heavily protected.[2][54] The attackers carried M4 carbines and AK-47s and wore military-style uniforms.[8][55]
The attack was inadvertently filmed by a tourist from Ahmedabad, who was ziplining during the attack.[56] The video footage from the scene showed scenes of panic with injured victims pleading for help and bodies strewn across the ground.[57] A local Muslim pony operator, Syed Adil Hussain Shah reportedly tried to protect the tourists and wrestle the gun from one of the attackers before being shot and killed.[58][20][59]
Targeted attack on Hindu tourists
The militants asked for the names and religions of the tourists,[17] and specifically targeted those who were Hindus.[7][2] The attackers killed the Hindu men after separating them from the Muslim men.[60] Some tourists were asked to recite the Islamic verse of kalima, so that the militants could segregate them by religion.[18][61] Some Hindu men were forced to remove their trousers to check for a lack of circumcision before being shot at close range.[57][62] The militants told some Hindu women that they were spared so that they could narrate the horrors of their men's killing to the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.[63][22]
The first tourist to be shot was newly married Shubham Dwivedi from Kanpur, who was visiting Kashmir with his wife.[21] The militants approached the couple and asked, “Are you a Hindu or a Muslim?” and Dwivedi responded that “We are Hindus” and was shot point-blank in the head.[7][21] Another newlywed victim was Indian Navy lieutenant, Vinay Narwal from Haryana, who went to Pahalgam six days after his wedding with his wife.[64] In a viral video of the attack, his wife is heard saying "a man suddenly came and said he's not Muslim then shot him."[65] The militants shot three bullets into Narwal's neck, chest and thighs "after realizing he was a Hindu”.[7]
The daughter of a Hindu tourist from Pune recounted that militants asked her father to recite an Islamic verse, and "when he failed to do so, they pumped three bullets into him, one on the head, one behind the ear and another in the back”.[66] The wife of another victim from Andhra Pradesh told the state's deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan that she and her husband lay on the ground, and the terrorists asked twice, "Hindu hai, muslim hai?" (lit. 'Are (you) Hindu? Are (you) Muslim?'), and when they did not respond, her husband was shot dead.[67] A Bengali Hindu professor from Assam, who hid his identity by reciting the Islamic Kalima escaped the killing,[68] while a Christian man from Madhya Pradesh was shot dead after being unable to recite the Kalima.[69] His wife said the attackers took selfies with the dead bodies.[70]
Response
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi cut short his visit to Saudi Arabia and returned to India to chair a meeting with the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on the issue.[125] After this meeting, the Indian foreign secretary, Vikram Misri, briefed senior diplomats around the world regarding five major decisions made by the Indian government.[126] He announced India would immediately suspend the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan until Pakistan ceases its support for cross-border terrorism.[127] He further announced the closure of the main border crossing between the two countries, a travel ban of all Pakistani nationals to India under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme, and a cancellation of all previously issued visas.[128] Pakistani military advisers at the High Commission of Pakistan in New Delhi were expelled, and their Indian counterparts in Islamabad were withdrawn.[129][130]
Union home minister Amit Shah travelled to Srinagar to assess the situation and coordinate the security response, and later travelled to the site of the attack.[131] On 23 April, the Indian Army gave limited clearance for the operation of its grounded HAL Dhruv fleet for counterterrorism operations.[132]
The government later admitted a security lapse revealing that Baisaran Valley had been opened to tourists two months ahead of schedule without notifying security forces, a factor which facilitated the attack. On 24 April, the central government convened an all-party meeting to brief opposition parties in the wake of the attack. Opposition leaders criticised the oversight and Modi's absence from the briefing.[133][134]
India launched Operation Sindoor on 7 May, striking nine targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.[135] Pakistan said that the operation resulted in civilian casualties on the Pakistani side.[136][137] In response, Pakistan launched drone and missiles strikes around the Kashmir region.[138] Residents of Indian-administered Kashmir stated that civilians had been killed in shelling from the Pakistani side of the border.[139]
International reactions
The attack drew condemnations and statements of condolences from several other countries including Iran, Israel, Italy, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States, and India's neighbours including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.[173][174] The United Nations and the European Union also issued similar statements.[175][176]
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) condemned the Pahalgam attack and its Commissioner stated that “We are deeply concerned by the explicit targeting of Hindus and other non-Muslims”.[177]
Pakistani defence minister Khawaja Asif dismissed the allegations of his country's involvement in the attack, stating, "This is all home-grown, there are revolutions in different so-called states against India, not one, not two, but dozens, from Nagaland to Kashmir, in the south, in Chhattisgarh, in Manipur. In all these places, there are revolutions against the Indian government."[178][179] Asif did not rule out the possibility that the attacks were orchestrated by India or were a false flag operation, claiming that The Resistance Front could not be considered as perpetrators because they would allegedly no longer exist. In an interview with Sky News, he acknowledged that the Pakistani state has a history of funding, training, and supporting terrorist organizations, noting that Pakistan has "done the dirty work for the United States for about three decades. And West, including Britain."[180]
Pakistan also warned India of a comprehensive retaliation in response to the actions announced by the Indian government in the aftermath of the incident.[181] On 24 April, Pakistan suspended visas issued to Indian nationals and closed its airspace to Indian aircraft.[182] On the night between 24 and 25 April, Pakistani and Indian troops skirmished and exchanged small arms fire at multiple positions along the line of control.[183][184]
Reactions
Domestic reactions
Following the attack, an increase in the number of visitors leaving Jammu and Kashmir was recorded, prompting Air India to operate additional flights to the region.[140] Furthermore, numerous tourist destinations in the region were closed.[141][142]
Kashmir
Protests were held across Muslim-majority regions of Kashmir, including Srinagar, Pulwama, Shopian, Pahalgam, Anantnag, Baramulla, and other towns. Demonstrators expressed grief and anger, calling the attack a blow to Kashmiriyat and condemning the violence. Shops and businesses shut down in solidarity.[143] On 25 April, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, in his Friday sermon at Srinagar's Jamia Masjid, said that Kashmiris "stand shoulder to shoulder with the victims." A minute of silence was observed before prayers in memory of those killed.[144]
Rest of India
Protests and demonstrations were held in many parts of India condemning the attack.[145][146] Various Indian cities, such as Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, among others, witnessed candlelight vigils and silent marches to honour the victims.[147][148][149] Prominent Muslim organisations, such as Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, denounced the attack, stating that it contradicted Islam's promotion of peace.[150]
The attack also prompted a surge in Islamophobic and anti-Kashmiri sentiments across the country. The Association for Protection of Civil Rights, a civil rights advocacy group, has recorded multiple incidents of Islamophobic hate speech, intimidation, and violence, since the attack.[151] Particularly, Kashmiri women and students have faced incidents of threats, harassment, heckling, and assaults from far-right Hindutva groups. In states such as Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh, Kashmiri tenants faced eviction from their rented accommodations, and shopkeepers refused to trade with them. Several Kashmiri students were forced to seek refuge in airports while attempting to return home.[152][153][154] In Dehradun, the leader of the Hindu Raksha Dal, a far-right Hindutva organisation, issued a threat, warning that Kashmiri Muslims must leave or face unspecified consequences. He also announced plans to mobilise workers to act against them.[155][156] The state government of Haryana, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), issued directives to ensure the safety of Kashmiri students.[157] However, several BJP members and leaders have also been linked to the rise in hate speech and violence following the attack, including public calls for economic boycotts, inflammatory mosque protests, and assaults on Muslim vendors. Affiliates like the Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) have also staged protests featuring similar rhetoric.[151][158][159] Furthermore, calls were raised to deport illegal immigrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh.[146]
On 1 May 2025, Himanshi Narwal, the widow of one of the victims, called for unity and the promotion of communal harmony;[160][161] she was subsequently met with widespread online harassment and trolling, which was condemned by India's National Commission for Women.[162][163][164] Sikh volunteers have assisted Kashmiri Muslims by providing safe spaces, food, and transportation, who have faced hostility in various parts of India following the terror attack.[165][1
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