The beautiful valley of Pahalgam listened to gunshots on Tuesday during spring calmness leading the traditional valley into a tragic state. More than one paramilitary force member lost their lives fighting bloody terrorists who also injured numerous personnel at the lush forested mountain town. Recent history witnessed this attack as one of the deadliest such incidents in the region becoming a meticulously calculated ambush that descended both area residents and tourists into a state of chilling terror.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was accompanied by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who held an emergency meeting with top security officials to assess the situation and order intensified operations.
At the same time, political leaders from all around the country have expressed grief and expressed solidarity with the affected people and families. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had declared that families of those who passed on in the Pahalgam attack will get ex gratia payment of ₹10 lakh each as a measure to pay tribute to them and the extent of the tragedy is not confined to state borders.
In New Delhi behind closed doors, high level debates are taking place. Addressing members of the CCS (Cabinet Committee on Security), Union Home Minister Amit Shah put forth a detailed update after the attack.
In a parallel crackdown, law enforcement has significantly broadened its operations across the Kashmir Valley. Sources familiar with the ongoing exercise have indicated that more than 1,500 individuals—ranging from those with known affiliations to militant sympathizers to persons previously booked under various charges—have been taken into preventive custody for questioning.
Amid these developments, the nation’s top security brass convened at the Prime Minister’s official residence at Lok Kalyan Marg. Among those seen arriving for the meeting were National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar. Their presence signals the gravity of the security concerns and the strategic recalibration that may follow.
In Kulgam’s Tangimarg region, security forces pursuing leads related to the Pahalgam case reported hearing sporadic gunfire during combing operations. Senior police officials have confirmed that search teams have been tracing the movement of the group believed to be behind Monday’s fatal ambush, and encounters in the region may intensify in the coming hours.
It has put a dark shadow on the Valley’s desire to have a quiet tourist season. This act of terror comes in the middle of spring, when thousands of pilgrims and travelers will be visiting and it is an attempt to bring an end to fragile normalcy created by the residents over the last couple of months.
A Bhavnagar family, who took a spiritual journey from Gujarat, had ended in unbearable sorrow. On April 19, six members of his family, among them Yatishbhai Sudhirbhai Parmar, had gone to the Kashmir to listen to a Ram Katha . The entire country is mourning — and one of the victims of the heinous terrorist attack was Yatishbhai. He is 45 and Smit, his teenage son, was 17. According to SEOC from the state of Gujarat the father-son duo, were among the 26 people who died as innocent while stuck between the two attack camps. The Parmar family was well known by inhabitants of Waghawadi Road in Bhavnagar. Over the years the small and popular salon he had run had become a familiar place for people as had his little but popular eatery. He was a gentle, hardworking man who had no trouble lending a helping hand to friends. Officials have confirmed that three tourists from Gujarat died in the attack, but it is the numbers behind the bodies, not the numbers themselves, that speak volumes about this tragedy. Under the most heartbreaking of circumstances, the relatives of the Parmars are now en route to Srinagar to see their loved ones home.
In uniform, it’s a somber reminder even amidst the most beautiful corners that peace carries an exorbitant price and the nation prepares to mourn the martyrs with its full regalia of military rites.
