Overview

• Militants opened fire on tourists in the remote Baisaran Valley near Pahalgam, killing 26 and injuring many others in one of the deadliest civilian attacks in Kashmir in recent years.
• The Resistance Front, a Pakistan-linked proxy of Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility for the attack, which reportedly included foreign operatives who infiltrated the region days earlier.
• Survivors reported that attackers singled out Hindu tourists, forcing them to recite Islamic verses before opening fire, raising concerns of communal targeting.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the attack, directed Home Minister Amit Shah to oversee the response, and vowed that the perpetrators would face justice.
• Security forces have launched a large-scale manhunt across Jammu and Kashmir, with the region on high alert ahead of the Amarnath Yatra and peak tourist season.