Pahalgam terror attack bleeds Soul of India
By Rameez Makhdoomi
The brutal Pahalgam terrorist attack on tourists has bled the soul of India. The nation is in deep mourning. Terrorists attacked a group of tourists in the Baisaran meadows of Pahalgam, in Jammu and Kashmir, on April 22, 2025, leaving dozens dead and several more injured. It was the first major terror attack on civilians in Kashmir since the Centre ended J&K’s special status in 2019. As a matter of fact, the attack, the deadliest of its kind in India since the 2008 Mumbai attacks, specifically targeted male Hindu tourists. The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of the Pakistan-based, UN-designated terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility for the attack. The whole nation has erupted in anger and grief. The Central Government has taken a series of steps against Pakistan, including suspending the Indus Water Treaty. Houses of two Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists, Adil Thokar and Asif Shaikh, involved in the Pahalgam attack, were destroyed in a blast on Thursday night in Anantnag and Awantipora, respectively.
Whole Kashmir is on streets protesting the gruesome act loudly .
The facts of this gut-wrenching terror attack are enough to move every heart. In an emotional exclusive interview, Shital Kalathiya, the wife of Shailesh Kalathiya, who was killed in the recent Pahalgam terror attack, recounted the horror of witnessing her husband being shot dead by terrorists. Cradling him in her lap after he was hit, Shital was left begging for help that never came. She recalled that they had only been at Pahalgam’s popular “Mini Switzerland” spot for 10–15 minutes with their two children and other families when gunfire erupted. Initially confused, they asked a nearby shopkeeper who also claimed it was the first time he’d heard such sounds. Moments later, terrorists appeared and ordered the group to separate by religion — Hindus on one side, Muslims on the other. “All the Hindu men were shot on the spot within two to three minutes,” she said in an interview with Aaj Tak, India Today’s sister website.
In a related development, India has taken a series of strong measures following the Pahalgam terror attack, including suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, 1960, and closing the Integrated Check Post Attari with immediate effect. The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) reviewed the overall security situation in its meeting at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence and directed all forces to maintain high vigil. Briefing the media in New Delhi, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said that Pakistani nationals will not be permitted to travel to India under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) visas. He further stated that any SVES visas issued in the past to Pakistani nationals are deemed cancelled. He said any Pakistani national currently in India under an SVES visa has 48 hours to leave India. The Foreign Secretary informed that the Defence/Military, Naval, and Air Advisors in the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi have been declared Persona Non Grata.
In the aftermath of the brutal terror attack in Pahalgam, top global leaders reached out to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to express their condolences and reaffirm their support for India in the fight against terrorism. Among those who called PM Modi were Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, King Abdullah II of Jordan, and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. The US State Department has also condemned the terror attack and called for bringing to justice those behind this heinous act. Undoubtedly, this terror act has left the entire country in mourning, and calls for revenge from terrorists and their backers grow loud.