In one of the bloodiest terrorist attacks in Kashmir in the last decade, at least 28 tourists are feared killed, including two foreign nationals, when suspected militants opened indiscriminate fire at Baisaran meadow, a serene alpine destination often dubbed the Mini Switzerland of India, located 5 km from Pahalgam in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
The gunmen, reportedly dressed in Army fatigues, ambushed a large group of tourists at around 1:30 PM on Tuesday, moments after they reached the picturesque plateau. Survivors say the attackers separated men from women, asked for religious identity, and then executed non-Muslims with chilling precision.
“They asked our names, where we were from, and then shot my husband in the head. He wasn’t a Muslim,” said a traumatized survivor in a video now viral across Indian news networks.
Confirmed Victims Include High-Profile Officials and Civilians
Authorities confirmed the deaths of:
- Lt Commander Vinay Narwal (29), an officer in the Indian Navy, honeymooning with his wife after a recent marriage. His wife is critically injured.
- Ravi Tripathi, an officer with the Intelligence Bureau, reportedly on a private holiday.
- Prashant Sathpathy, Accounts Officer at CIPET, Balasore.
- Five tourists from Gujarat, three from Maharashtra, two from West Bengal, and four from Delhi-NCR.
- Two foreign tourists: one reportedly Nepali and another Emirati, identities pending official confirmation.
As many as 16 bodies have been recovered so far. Twelve others, including three children, remain in critical condition at Srinagar’s SKIMS Hospital and Anantnag District Hospital.
The Target: Peace, Identity and Perception
Security officials suspect the Resistance Front (TRF)—a proxy of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba—planned the operation with a dual motive: to sabotage Kashmir’s fast-recovering tourism economy and to send a message during a time of heightened international diplomacy.
“TRF is just a mask. This was Lashkar’s operation, approved from across the border,” said a senior intelligence officer who wished to remain anonymous.
The brutality of the attack—asking names, checking IDs, and targeting specific communities—evoked parallels with the Chittisinghpora massacre of 2000, where 35 Sikhs were killed by terrorists in Anantnag during US President Bill Clinton’s India visit.
The timing is once again strategic:
- US Vice President JD Vance is in India.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi was meeting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh when the attack occurred.
- Just hours earlier, Pakistan Army Chief Gen. Asim Munir made a public statement accusing India of demographic engineering in Kashmir.
International and Domestic Reactions Pour In
Condemnations came swiftly:
- US President Donald Trump wrote: “We stand with India. This act of terror must be punished.”
- Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, France’s Emmanuel Macron, and the UAE Governmentcondemned the attack as “inhuman, cowardly, and a blow to global peace efforts.”
- UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for an “impartial investigation” but added that “terrorism targeting civilians must never be justified.”
Political Fallout and Emergency Security Measures
Prime Minister Modi, who returned early from Riyadh, held an emergency meeting with NSA Ajit Doval, Home Minister Amit Shah, and senior intelligence officials. “The entire nation mourns the loss of innocent lives. This will not go unpunished,” he said.
Amit Shah reached Srinagar late Tuesday night and is supervising a massive cordon-and-search operation launched by the Indian Army, CRPF, and J&K Police.
Meanwhile, J&K LG Manoj Sinha has announced an ex-gratia of ₹10 lakh to each bereaved family and free airlifts for survivors.
Political leaders reacted strongly:
- Omar Abdullah (NC): “Kashmiris are heartbroken. This is not who we are.”
- Mehbooba Mufti (PDP): “The loss of every civilian life is a wound to Kashmir’s soul.”
- Rahul Gandhi (Congress): “This exposes the Modi government’s hollow claims of normalcy in Kashmir.”
Eyewitness Accounts: ‘We Thought They Were Army’
A horse handler, Ghulam Nabi, who witnessed the incident, said:
“We thought it was a routine Army patrol. They had uniforms, boots, rifles. Then they started asking names. Within seconds, they opened fire.”
Some tourists were shot execution-style, while others fell off cliffs trying to escape. One woman pretended to be dead for over an hour under her husband’s body before being rescued.
The attack lasted 12–15 minutes, and the militants escaped into the dense forests toward Pine Valley and Lidderwat, areas known for cross-border infiltration routes and past militant activity.
Tourism Grinds to a Halt
The psychological impact has been immediate:
- Over 9,000 tourists have cancelled bookings for the coming week.
- Flights and trains to Srinagar are seeing mass cancellations.
- MakeMyTrip, Yatra, and other agencies are issuing full refunds.
J&K Tourism Department has deployed liaison teams at airports and railway stations to assist stranded tourists. Hoteliers fear the season is “completely ruined”.
Local economy, which depends heavily on tourism, especially post-COVID, faces yet another setback.
Amarnath Yatra Under Threat?
The attack casts a long shadow on the upcoming Amarnath Yatra, set to commence on July 3. Baisaran lies on a potential flank that could be used to infiltrate Yatra routes.
Security agencies are now reviewing:
- The Yatra’s security protocols.
- Use of drones and satellite surveillance.
- Deployment of mountain warfare-trained troops in non-traditional zones.
A joint task force of Army-IB-RAW has been created to track the group behind the attack.
Peace in Peril Again
What was meant to be a quiet holiday in the breathtaking mountains of Kashmir has turned into a national tragedy and an international flashpoint. This attack doesn’t just kill people — it shakes the confidence of a nation, the hopes of a region, and the illusion of normalcy.
In the lush meadows of Baisaran, the snow is no longer white. It’s streaked red — with questions that demand answers, and wounds that time alone may not heal.
