Gunmen kill at least 26 tourists in Kashmir shooting

At least 26 are dead, and dozens more injured, after armed men opened fire on a group of tourists in the disputed region of Kashmir yesterday.

Armed men opened fire on a group of tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir, killing at least 26 people and injuring dozens of others. Two senior police officers told The Associated Press (AP) news agency that at least four gunmen fired at dozens of tourists from close range. 

Police said the “terror attack” that took place on Tuesday 22 April occurred while tourists were visiting Baisaran meadow, some 5km (3 miles) from the disputed region’s resort town of Pahalgam. The picturesque meadow, often referred to as a “mini Switzerland”, is a popular tourist spot. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on an official visit to Saudi Arabia, decried the “heinous act”, pledging that the attackers “will be brought to justice”.

It is one of the deadliest attacks seen in Kashmir in recent times. The region’s top elected official Chief Minister Omar Abdullah wrote on social media, “This attack is much larger than anything we’ve seen directed at civilians in recent years”.

Indian police told AP that no group had yet claimed responsibility for the attack.  Police, however, blamed it on armed groups fighting against Indian rule.

So far, the identities of the victims have not been disclosed, but police officers told AP that most of the tourists killed were Indian.

World leaders including President Trump and President Putin have condemned the terror attack.

India-Pakistan conflict

India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir, but both claim the territory in its entirety. The conflict started after the partition of India in 1947, and it is a dispute that has escalated into three wars and several other armed skirmishes between India and Pakistan.

The Indian government, led by Modi’s Bharativa Janata Party (BJP), revoked Kashmir’s special, semi-autonomous status, in 2019, splitting the state into two federally administered territories – Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. Kashmir has been under an intensified military crackdown since then. 

Many in Muslim-majority, Indian-administered Kashmir support the rebels’ goal of uniting the territory with Pakistan or creating an independent country. India insists the Kashmir uprising is Paskistan-sponsored, but Pakistan denies the charge. Many Kashmiris consider it a legitimate freedom struggle.

This latest attack follows violence earlier this month between security forces and suspected rebels, which resulted in six deaths. However, attacks targeting tourists in Kashmir have been rare in recent years, the last one dating back to June 2024, when fighters attacked a bus carrying Hindu pilgrims, plunging it into a deep gorge and killing at least nine people. 

Government advice

The Australian government travel advisory, Smartraveller, updated its advice on travel to India on 17 April. The current advice is to ‘Exercise a high degree of caution in India overall due to the threat of terrorism and crime and the risk of civil unrest.’

The site also advises ‘Do not travel to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the India-Pakistan border (except the Atari-Wagah border crossing), or Manipur, due to the danger of armed clashes, terrorist activities and violent demonstrations.’