India Blames Pakistan for Kashmir Tourist Massacre \ Newslooks \ Washington DC \ Mary Sidiqi \ Evening Edition \ A brutal attack on Indian tourists in Kashmir killed 26, prompting India to blame Pakistan and respond with missile strikes. The massacre has exposed serious security lapses and reignited tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals. Experts say India’s claims of Kashmir normalcy have been severely undermined.
Quick Looks
- 26 Indian tourists, mostly Hindu men, were shot dead in Kashmir’s Baisaran meadow.
- Gunmen in army fatigues opened fire at close range, then vanished into forests.
- India blames Pakistan-backed militants for the April 22 attack, which Islamabad denies.
- India responded with missile strikes into Pakistani-controlled territory, killing civilians.
- Indian PM Modi’s claims of Kashmir normalcy shattered by the attack.
- No security presence despite more than 1,000 tourists in the area.
- Public outrage and calls for military action against Pakistan intensify.
- Experts say Modi government ignored warning signs and over-relied on tourism optics.
- Attack comes after Pakistan accused India of a Baloch insurgent-linked train hijacking.
- Analysts suggest a strategic shift in India’s response, from militants to state-level targets.
Deep Look
What began as a scenic day for hundreds of Indian tourists, families, and honeymooners in the lush Baisaran meadow of Kashmir ended in horror when gunmen in army uniforms emerged from nearby forests and opened fire at close range. Twenty-six people were killed, mostly Hindu men, and 17 others injured, in one of the worst civilian massacres in Kashmir’s recent history.
The attackers disappeared quickly into the forest, and by the time Indian security forces arrived, the serene landscape had turned into a grim crime scene. Bodies were scattered across the meadow, and survivors were left crying for help. The attack shattered not only lives, but also the narrative of peace and normalcy that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has touted in recent years.
India has labeled the April 22 massacre a terrorist attack, directly accusing Pakistan of backing the militants, a claim Islamabad vehemently denies. In a swift escalation, India launched missile strikes into Pakistani-controlled areas, hitting at least three locations. According to Pakistani sources, civilians were among the casualties, though India maintains that only militant infrastructure was targeted.
The massacre and India’s military response have reignited dangerous tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, pushing the region closer to the brink. Pakistan’s government condemned the Indian strikes and warned of retaliation, while global leaders, including the United Nations, have urged both countries to exercise restraint.
Back home, Modi’s administration faces mounting criticism for a security lapse in a region it claimed was stable. Indian officials had long cited growing tourism and reduced violence as evidence that Kashmir was returning to normal. That narrative has now been widely questioned by former military officers, intelligence veterans, and political opponents.
“The Modi government ignored clear warning signs,” said Avinash Mohananey, a former Indian intelligence officer. He noted that no security forces were deployed near the meadow that day, despite over 1,000 tourists visiting. “We totally missed the intentions of our hostile neighbor,” he said.
The Baisaran meadow, near the town of Pahalgam, lies along a route dotted with three security camps and a police station, yet none of those forces were present to respond to the attack. The area serves as a base for a large Hindu pilgrimage every year, further raising questions about the lack of protection.
The Modi government held an all-party meeting just two days after the killings to discuss the breach. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju admitted that security lapses had occurred, a rare acknowledgment by the ruling party.
Former Northern Army commander D.S. Hooda, who led India’s “surgical strikes” in 2016 following similar cross-border attacks, said the choice of target—civilians rather than security forces—and the execution of the massacre point to careful planning. “With proper security, this might have been prevented,” he stated.
Security analysts have drawn parallels between the Kashmir massacre and a recent train hijacking in Pakistan’s Baloch region, in which 25 people died. Pakistan blamed India for orchestrating that attack—an accusation New Delhi denied. However, Indian officials believe the Kashmir shooting may have been a retaliatory move.
Mohananey also pointed to a notable pattern in both attacks: women and children were spared, while adult males were specifically targeted. This, he said, suggests an intentional message or strategy by the attackers. Two senior Indian police officers, speaking anonymously, revealed they had anticipated some form of militant retaliation following the Baloch incident, even warning of a potential attack, though not on tourists.
The massacre has returned India to a situation eerily similar to 2019, when a suicide bombing in Kashmir prompted New Delhi to revoke the region’s semi-autonomous status and place it under direct federal control. Since then, India has used intensified security crackdowns to suppress insurgency and promote an image of calm.
“We probably started believing our own narrative of normalcy,” said Mohananey.
The public response in India has been furious, with television channels, social media, and political commentators calling for military retaliation. Some even suggested invading Pakistan, echoing the nationalist rhetoric that Modi’s administration has often encouraged. But experts caution against hasty action.
“Talk of military options mostly circulates in echo chambers,” said Ajai Sahni, a counterterrorism expert based in New Delhi. “It doesn’t matter what is done. It will be claimed as successful and celebrated nonetheless.”
Still, some strategists believe the Indian government may now be recalibrating its stance—shifting from targeting militant groups to holding Pakistan directly accountable. Hooda believes the time may have come to address what he called the “fountainhead” of terrorism.
“Pakistan continues to use terrorism as an instrument of state policy,” he said. “India must tighten internal security, yes, but also look at confronting the source.”
As the region braces for potential escalation, the massacre serves as a chilling reminder that Kashmir remains a tinderbox—one spark away from igniting a wider conflict.
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