SRINAGAR, April 25 — It was meant to be a peaceful escape — a trip to the scenic meadows of Baisaran Valley, away from the scorching heat of India’s plains. But for many families, this vacation turned into a nightmare they will carry forever.
Gunmen emerged from the shadows of the pine forests, rifles in hand, and shattered the calm of the mountains near Pahalgam. What followed was the deadliest civilian attack in Indian-administered Kashmir in years — 26 lives, all men, brutally taken. Survivors are still trying to make sense of it all.
“They came out of nowhere,” said Pallavi, who watched in horror as her husband was gunned down in front of her. “I begged them to shoot me too. But they said, ‘No. Go tell Modi.’” Her voice trembled as she recalled the moment — a chilling command to carry a message soaked in blood.
Eyewitnesses say the attackers moved with cold precision. They separated the men from the women and children, sparing the latter. Then they opened fire. Some survivors believe the men were targeted based on religion. “They asked if we were Muslim. My cousin was shot in the head because he wasn’t,” said Shubham Dwivedi’s cousin, his voice heavy with grief.
Some media reports suggest the assailants were wearing body cameras, possibly to record the killings. Indian authorities claim at least two of the attackers were Pakistani nationals, fueling further tensions across the border. Pakistan has denied involvement.
The horror didn’t end with the gunfire. Survivors say the wounded lay for hours without help. “If emergency teams had come quicker, maybe some could have been saved,” said one tearful survivor.
Shital Kalathiya, whose husband died that day, said she’s broken — not just by the loss, but by the silence. “There was no security, no one there to protect us,” she said. “If the risk was known, why were we allowed to go?”
What was meant to be a breath of fresh air ended in screams and sorrow. And for the families who walked down that mountain alone, the pain is now a lifetime journey.
