By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
NEW DELHI (Worthy News) – Several world leaders united in condemnation of a mass shooting in Indian-controlled Kashmir that officials said killed at least two dozen people.
The apparent terror attack happened around Pahalgam, a picturesque town in the Himalayas often described as the “Switzerland of India.”
The region’s chief minister, Omar Abdullah, said the attack targeting tourists was “much larger than anything we’ve seen directed at civilians in recent years.”
Police blamed militants fighting against Indian rule for the attack in Baisaran meadow, some 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the disputed region’s resort town of Pahalgam.
The gunman shot and killed at least 26 tourists there on Tuesday, though other reports have higher figures. Besides those killed, at least three dozen people were wounded, many of them seriously, according to two senior police officers.
“This attack is much larger than anything we’ve seen directed at civilians in recent years,” Omar Abdullah, the region’s top elected official, wrote on social media.
The two officers said at least four militants fired at dozens of tourists from close range. Most of the killed tourists were Indian, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity in keeping with departmental policy.
TRUMP CONCERNED
U.S. President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and European Union chief Ursula Von der Leyen were among world leaders who condemned the attacks.
“Deeply disturbing news out of Kashmir. The United States stands strong with India against Terrorism,” Trump stressed in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who was visiting India, called it a “devastating terrorist attack.” He added on social media: “Over the past few days, we have been overcome with the beauty of this country and its people. Our thoughts and prayers are with them as they mourn this horrific attack.”
Von der Leyen called the Kashmir deaths a “vile terrorist attack,” while Putin expressed “sincere condolences” for the consequences of a “brutal crime.”
The United Nations also condemned the attack.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi – who cut short his trip to Saudi Arabia following the of the attack – said the perpetrators would “be brought to justice”. He added: “Our resolve to fight terrorism is unshakeable, and it will get even stronger.”
Observers said Tuesday’s attack is unusual in that, in three and a half decades of conflict, tourists have rarely been targeted – especially on such a scale.
SIMMERING TENSIONS
However, tensions have been simmering as India intensifies its counterinsurgency operations.
But despite tourists flocking to Kashmir in enormous numbers for its Himalayan foothills and exquisitely decorated houseboats, they have not been targeted.
The region has drawn millions of visitors who enjoy a strange peace kept by ubiquitous security checkpoints, armored vehicles, and patrolling soldiers.
New Delhi has vigorously pushed tourism and claimed it as a sign of normalcy returning.
The meadow belonging to Pahalgam is a popular destination, surrounded by snow-capped mountains and dotted with pine forests.
It is visited by hundreds of tourists every day, a reality that added to the high number of victims following Tuesday’s bloodshed there.
On Tuesday, India’s Home Minister Amit Shah traveled to Srinagar, Kashmir’s largest city, to hold an emergency security meeting.
ARMY PRESENCE
The region’s Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, said the army and police had been deployed to the scene.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, however there has been a decades long-running insurgency in the Muslim-majority.
Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, while condemning the attack, said Modi’s government should not make “hollow claims on the situation being normal” in the region.
Militants in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi’s rule since 1989. Many Muslim Kashmiris reportedly support the rebels’ goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.
India insists the Kashmir militancy is neighboring Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Pakistan denies the charge.
Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels, and government forces have been killed in the conflict. In March 2000, at least 35 civilians were shot and killed in a southern village in Kashmir while then-U.S. President Bill Clinton was visiting India. It was the region’s deadliest attack in the past couple of decades.
Violence has ebbed in recent times in the Kashmir Valley, the heart of anti-India rebellion. Clashes between government troops and rebels largely shifted to remote areas of Jammu region, including Rajouri, Poonch, and Kathua, where Indian forces have faced deadly attacks, according to observers.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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