(Representative image)
Jammu and Kashmir: At least 26 civilians, mostly tourists, were killed in a terror attack in Pahalgam, located in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district, on Tuesday. The incident marks the deadliest assault in the Valley since the 2019 Pulwama attack. The attack occurred in Baisaran, a picturesque meadow accessible only on foot or by pony, where a group of tourists had gone earlier in the day.
The Resistance Front — a shadow outfit of the banned Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) — has reportedly claimed responsibility. However, an official confirmation from the government is still awaited.
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Here’s a brief look at some of the major civilian terror attacks in the Valley since 2000:
March 21, 2000: In Anantnag district’s Chhattsinghpora village, armed militants conducted a deadly assault on the Sikh minority population, killing 36 people. This was the first time Sikhs had been targeted in the region. When the then Home Minister LK Advani offered the state’s Sikh population additional protective measures, the local Sikh leadership rejected it, stating that the Muslim majority had not been hostile to them before and therefore, no protection was needed. The attack occurred on the eve of the then US president Bill Clinton’s state visit to India.
August 1-2, 2000: 32 people, among them 24 pilgrims bound for Amarnath, were killed in a terror attack at the Nunwan base camp. The dead included 21 Hindu pilgrims, 7 local Muslim shopkeepers, and 3 security officers. Seven others were injured. The then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee accused Pakistan of its alleged attempts to sabotage democracy in the valley.
July 20, 2001: Amarnath yatris were targeted again, this time at the Sheshnag base camp in Anantnag, killing 13 and injuring 15 others. Casualties included eight Hindu pilgrims, three Muslim civilians, and two security personnel. A few weeks later, Osama Bin Laden launched the September 11 attack on USA, leading to a global response against terrorism. Lashkar-e-Taiba was recognised as a terrorist organisation by India, the European Union, and the US.
October 1, 2001: Three militants belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammed executed an attack at the Jammu and Kashmir State Legislature Complex in Srinagar involving three suicide bombers. At least 36 people were killed.
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July 30 and August 6, 2002: Terror struck at Chandanwari base camp, where 11 Amarnath pilgrims were killed and 30 injured on July 30. A few days later, nine others were killed and 27 injured on August 6 by Islamic extremists from Lashkar-e-Taiba at Pahalgam’s Nunwan base camp.
November 23, 2002: Nineteen people, including nine security force personnel, three women and two children, lost their lives in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast at Lower Munda in South Kashmir on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway.
March 23, 2003: Led by Lashkar-e-Taiba, armed Islamic militants, dressed in military uniforms, shot and killed at least 24 Kashmiri Pandits, including 11 women and two children, at Nandimarg village in Pulwama district. The victim also included a two-year-old boy.
June 13, 2005: Thirteen civilians, including two schoolchildren, and three CRPF officers were killed, and over 100 people sustained injuries when an explosives-laden car blew up at a crowded marketplace in Pulwama.
September 18, 2016: Four Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists attacked the Indian Army brigade headquarters in Uri. Nineteen soldiers were killed, and 30 others were injured. The BBC called the Uri attack the “deadliest attack on security forces in Kashmir in two decades”. Eleven days later, the Indian Army conducted retaliatory surgical strikes on alleged launch pads used by militants in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. According to The Economist, Indian commandos crossed the Line of Control (LoC) and allegedly killed at least 150 Pakistani-sponsored militants.
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July 7, 2017: Terrorists attacked a civilian bus, which was not registered with the Amarnath shrine board, on the Baltal-Jammu route. Seven pilgrims were killed, and 32 others, including security forces, were injured.
July 10, 2017: Attack on Amarnath Yatra bus in Kulgam killed eight Hindu civilian pilgrims, seven of whom were women. The pilgrims mostly belonged to Gujarat. At least 19 others were left injured. Bus driver Saleem Mirza was hailed as a hero for saving lives despite heavy firing. The Gujarat government also told the media that Mirza will be nominated for the bravery award with the Indian government.
February 14, 2019: A convoy of vehicles carrying security personnel was attacked by a suicide bomber at Lethapora on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway in the Pulwama district. Forty CRPF personnel were killed. Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack. By August 2021, the main accused and six others had been killed, with seven arrested.
Notably, at least 11 intelligence inputs from several sources, including the Indian intelligence agency Intelligence Bureau and the J&K police, were ignored by the central government before the attack. Former governor of the state Satya Pal Malik alleged in an interview with Karan Thapar that Prime Minister Modi had asked him to remain silent on the security lapses by his administration. Home Minister Amit Shah rejected the allegations and questioned Malik’s credibility.
