PAHALGAM, India — A tense silence hung over the tourist town of Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir on Thursday, as shops, hotels, and local businesses remained closed for a second consecutive day following a militant attack that killed 26 people and injured 17 others.
The violence, which occurred Tuesday in the Baisaran Valley — a popular destination often referred to as “mini Switzerland” for its alpine meadows and pine-covered hills — marked the deadliest attack on civilians in India in nearly two decades.
Authorities said approximately 1,000 tourists and 300 local service providers were in the area at the time of the assault, which involved three unidentified gunmen. The victims included 25 Indian nationals and one citizen of Nepal, according to police.
The attack has cast a shadow over the region’s fragile peace and disrupted a period of relative calm that had fueled a surge in tourism. The Modi government had promoted that boom as a success story tied to its 2019 revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s semi-autonomous status — a controversial move it said would bring peace and development to the long-contested region.
Tourism had surged in recent years as insurgent activity declined, with the Himalayan region’s landscapes, Mughal-era gardens and mountain resorts attracting record numbers of domestic and foreign travelers. Officials now fear the violence could reverse those gains.
A little-known group calling itself the “Kashmir Resistance” claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on social media, citing grievances over demographic shifts. The group accused Indian authorities of resettling tens of thousands of “outsiders” in Kashmir in a bid to change the region’s Muslim-majority character — a claim that could not be independently verified.
