Prime Minister Narendra Modi will cut short his Saudi Arabia trip and leave for India tonight, say government sources, after a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam claimed 26 lives, which authorities say is the worst attack on civilians in years.
The killings come a day after PM Modi met with US Vice President JD Vance, who is on a four-day tour of India with his wife Usha and children.
Terrorists opened fire at a famed meadow near Kashmir’s Pahalgam town, dubbed “mini Switzerland” and about 90 km from key city of Srinagar, and started firing at tourists milling around eateries, taking pony rides or picnicking, officials and witnesses said.
With the area accessible only by foot or horses, choppers were deployed to evacuate the injured. The families of those killed and injured were taken to the government-owned Pahalgam Club under tight security.
Earlier in the day, as news of the attack spread, the Prime Minister dialled Home Minister Amit Shah and asked him to visit the Union Territory.
Amit Shah landed in Srinagar a little after 9 pm and drove straight to the Raj Bhavan from the airport.
Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police Nalin Prabhat briefed the home minister upon his arrival. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan and Director of Intelligence Bureau Tapan Deka were present at the time of the briefing.
In the afternoon, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that “the attack is much larger than anything we’ve seen directed at civilians in recent years”.
“This attack on our visitors is an abomination,” he said in a statement. “The perpetrators of this attack are animals, inhuman and worthy of contempt.”
