Pahalgam's Baisaran is India's "Mini Switzerland" and has been welcomed by tourists for centuries with its green slopes, mountain breeze, and picture perfect atmosphere. On April 22, 2025, the peaceful valley echoed with cries, the pastures saw something other than peace and happiness- bullets, bloodshed, and horror.

28 tourists lost their lives in a peaceful valley—cold-bloodedly murdered by gun-wielding terrorists. Some victims ranged from children, young couples, elderly tourists, and even overseas tourists who came seeking beauty and peace.

An Orchestrated Horror

The attack continued savagely and swiftly. Armed terrorists, supposedly disguised as Indian Army men stormed the tourist area during the afternoon. The assassins were described to be methodical in confronting the victims. They selected their victims, reportedly enquiring the name, scanning identity cards, ordering them to recite prayers according to Islam before choosing to open fire.

Attackers fired point-blank shots with the intention of maximum killings and maximum psychological damage. Among the first to be killed was a honeymooning bridegroom Navy official, while his wife escaped the carnage. Two foreign nationals, one Nepali and one UAE national, were also killed.

A Message in Blood

Later, responsibility for the bloodshed lay at The Resistance Front (TRF), a Pakistan-backed splinter group of Lashkar-e-Taiba's doorstep. Their release put the attack as an act of revenge against what they called "demographic manipulation" in Jammu and Kashmir, India's attempts to construct and incorporate the territory. But what they called "resistance," the world saw as a despicable act of terrorism.

It was not a war. It was sectarian violence—an ugly exercise in trying to dismember communities, ferment communal agitations, and kill the tender shoots of peace painfully germinating in Kashmir.

India in Mourning, India in Rage

When bloodshed broke out in India, shock and outrage swept the nation. Candlelight demonstrations were conducted in all cities. Condolences, portraits of the victims, and demands for justice overwhelmed Facebook, Twitter, and other sites.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was outside India on a foreign visit while the attack took place, outright condemned the attack as "a ruthless attack on humanity" and promised quick and merciless revenge. Home Minister Amit Shah, shortening his working day, flew to Srinagar to greet local police and intelligence officials.

I strongly condemn the terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. I pray that the injured recover at the earliest. All possible assistance is being provided to those affected.

Those behind this heinous act will be brought…

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 22, 2025

A Threat to Security?

As the nation mourned, a question crept into newsrooms and homes, how can such a glastly happen in a place so replete with the Army? Pahalgam, especially when there are tourists around, is kept under close watch with heavy deployment of the Army and CRPF.

Pre-dawn questioning had already attested to grass-root coordination breakdown. The militants would have found local support—logistical, if not tactical. Drone sorties, combing operations, and satellite views were employed collectively to sweep through Baisaran ridges and forests. Manhunt was of Gargantuan proportions, with roadblocks in South Kashmir on high alert.

But that a daytime strike was even possible produced daunting questions about preparation, intelligence lapses, and whether penetration within the security web was achieved.

A Chilling Historical Parallel

The massacre reminded one of the 2000 Chittisinghpora massacre when 36 Sikhs had been killed in cold blood at Anantnag at the instigation of a scheduled visit to the Indian subcontinent by an American VIP. The strategy is a simple one: resort to violence, assault the state, and ignite passion. It's a slogan endlessly repeated across the valley—and frequently filled out with disinformation and propaganda aired across the border.

Condemnation Isn't Enough

World leaders responded rapidly. The UN, America, the EU, and all surrounding countries condemned the attack and backed India. But this time India demanded something more. It demanded actual punishment on those who arm, train, and provide help to terror groups.

Terrorist finance networks, ideological radicalization, and open borders have to be addressed at the global level—not by the immediate victims only. Terrorism anywhere is terrorism everywhere, and Pahalgam reminded the world of that harsh reality again.

Never Again: A Call to Action

The Pahalgam massacre is not only a national shame. It is a denunciation of the ability of terrorism to thrive on the foundations of ideology and impunity. It's a wake-up call to the world not to keep turning the other cheek—and to understand such acts are not mere trifling local annoyances, but crimes against humanity.

India will cry, yes. But never forget. And never cease demanding justice in memory of those 28 innocent lives, who had done nothing wrong rather innocently headed to the heaven on Earth!