Pahalgam terror attack: Religious profiling preceded killings, say eyewitnesses

Multiple eyewitnesses described a chilling pattern: assailants reportedly questioned their victims about their names and religion before executing them point-blank

Srinagar: A peaceful spring afternoon in picturesque hill station of Pahalgam in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, was shattered on Tuesday when a targeted attack on non-Muslim tourists turned a serene hill station into a scene of terror, raising fears of a deliberate effort to sow division.

On April 22, 2025, at around 2:45 PM, 5-6 heavily armed terrorists believed to be affiliated with The Resistance Front (TRF), a shadow outfit of Pakistan based Lashker-e-Toiba, launched a brutal attack in Baisaran meadow of Pahalgam, killing at 27 people, including two foreign tourists.

Multiple eyewitnesses described a chilling pattern: the assailants reportedly questioned their victims about their names and religion before executing them at point-blank range.

“There was a method to the madness,” recalled a local tourist guide who helped survivors escape. “They separated the men, asked them their religion, and then shot them. Women and children were screaming. It was absolute terror.”

Among those killed in the attack were two businessmen from Pune, leaving their families in mourning. Asavari Jagdale, 26, lost her father, Santosh Jagdale, and her uncle, Kaustubh Ganbote. Speaking to reporters, she said the assailants appeared to target male tourists after asking about their religion.

“They asked my father to come forward and accused us of supporting Prime Minister Modi,” she said. “They claimed they don’t harm women or children, as if to justify what they were about to do.”  Santosh was shot three times—once in the head, behind the ear, and in the back—after failing to recite an Islamic verse, she added.

Another survivor, Pallavi from Shivamogga, Karnataka, witnessed the murder of her husband, Manjunath Rao. She recounted pleading with the attackers to kill her too. “One of them just said, ‘Modi ko batao’—‘Go tell Modi.’ I can’t describe the pain,” she said through tears.

In yet another tragedy, Bharat Bhushan, a tech professional from Bengaluru, was gunned down in front of his wife and their three-year-old son. His mother-in-law later confirmed that the attackers asked whether the victims were Hindu before opening fire.

The massacre has sent shockwaves across Kashmir and the country and cast a shadow over the upcoming Amarnath Yatra, scheduled to begin on July 3.

Security concerns are mounting as this latest incident evokes grim memories of the 2000 Amarnath pilgrimage massacre, in which 32 Hindu pilgrims were killed in a similar attack at Pahalgam’s Nunwan base camp.