SRINAGAR, April 25 — What was meant to be a peaceful escape from the heat turned into a scene of unspeakable horror for dozens of families visiting the picturesque Baisaran Valley near Pahalgam, Kashmir.
In the deadliest civilian attack in the region in recent years, 26 men were brutally gunned down on Tuesday. Survivors, still in shock, recall how heavily armed attackers emerged silently from the surrounding pine forest and opened fire without mercy.
“They spared the women,” one survivor whispered, her voice trembling, “but kept shooting at the men. One after another.”
Families had traveled to the meadows for a few days of calm — children laughing, couples taking selfies under snow-capped peaks. But everything changed in an instant.
Pallavi, one of the survivors, watched helplessly as her husband was executed right in front of her. Choking on her tears, she told local reporters that she begged the gunmen to take her too. Instead, she says, they left her with chilling words: “Go tell Modi.”
These weren’t random killings. According to survivors and media reports, the attack was calculated — a message carved in fear and blood. Some attackers reportedly wore body cameras, filming the massacre. They separated men from women and children, even asking some victims to declare their religion before pulling the trigger.
Shubham Dwivedi’s cousin was one of them. “They asked if he was Muslim, and when he wasn’t… they shot him,” the cousin said, voice cracking. His wife was left alive — to carry the story home.
Shital Kalathiya, whose husband died that day, can’t stop replaying the moment in her mind. “It broke me,” she said. “And what broke me even more — not a single security officer was there. Not one.”
India has pointed fingers across the border, accusing Pakistan of backing terrorism — allegations Islamabad denies. But in the valley, politics feels distant. What remains is grief, confusion, and unanswered questions.
“If they knew it wasn’t safe,” Shital asked, “why did they let us go there?”
And in the silence that follows, the mountains of Kashmir seem to mourn too.
