Pahalgam, April 22 – India’s opposition Congress party on Tuesday urged the central government to take accountability for a deadly militant attack in Jammu and Kashmir that killed several civilians, including tourists, in the southern town of Pahalgam.
Videos circulating on social media showed distraught women with blood on their faces pleading for help after witnessing the killing of their husbands. The attack, which occurred around 3 p.m., saw militants reportedly descend from nearby hills and open fire on a group of tourists in what authorities said was the first major terror incident in the region this year.
“This cowardly attack is heartbreaking,” senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “Instead of making hollow claims about normalcy in J&K, the government must take responsibility and ensure such barbaric incidents do not recur.”
His sister and fellow party leader, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, condemned the attack as a “crime against humanity” and urged the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to take decisive action. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge also denounced the killings, calling them a “blot on humanity.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, currently on a state visit to Saudi Arabia, condemned the attack and said the “evil agenda” of those behind it would not succeed. He spoke with Home Minister Amit Shah and directed him to personally visit the site. “Our resolve to fight terrorism is unshakeable,” Modi wrote on X.
The region’s Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, called the attack “an abomination,” describing the perpetrators as “inhuman” and offering condolences to the victims’ families.
The incident has raised fears of a resurgence in attacks targeting civilians, similar to a spate of killings reported in the region last year. In October, several migrant workers and a doctor were shot dead in Ganderbal and Shopian districts, prompting authorities to introduce a new security framework aimed at protecting vulnerable groups.
Last month, Shah told Parliament that the Modi government’s 2019 decision to revoke Jammu and Kashmir’s special constitutional status under Article 370 had led to a significant decline in terror-related incidents, claiming a 70% drop in fatalities. No militant group has yet claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s attack.
