Tourists flee India-administered Kashmir after deadly attack
Indian troops on Wednesday (April 23, 2025) guarded the site of the attack where gunmen in Kashmir killed 26 people. - Photo: AFP
PAHALGAM, (India): Indian tourist brochures dub the Himalayan region of Kashmir "Little Switzerland", and its mountain meadows are usually packed with visitors escaping the sweltering summer heat in the lowland plains of India.
On Wednesday (April 23), a day after gunmen killed 26 men in an attack on the popular tourist site of Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah reported an "exodus of our guests".
For New Delhi, the 3.5 million tourists who it says visited Kashmir in 2024 -- mostly domestic visitors -- illustrated what officials called "normalcy and peace" returning to the troubled region after a massive crackdown.
Rebels in the Muslim-majority region have waged an insurgency since 1989, seeking independence or a merger with Pakistan, but violence had dropped since New Delhi revoked Kashmir's limited autonomy in 2019.
India has an estimated 500,000 soldiers permanently deployed in the territory.
A day after the attack, the region's deadliest assault on civilians since 2000, tourists scrambled to leave, cramming into buses and taxis, while hoteliers reported a surge of cancellations.
At Pahalgam, the site of the attack, the usually tranquil meadows surrounded by pine forests and snowcapped mountains, reverberated with the thumping sounds of military helicopters taking part in a vast manhunt for the attackers.
Around 24 hours after the attack, smears of blood were still visible at the site of attack, now patrolled by soldiers dressed in bulletproof jackets.
Soldiers guarded the entrance, as forensic investigators collected evidence.
The usually busy tourist site of Pahalgam was under heavy guard as visitors left the town a day after a deadly attack. - Photo: AFP
- 'Heartbreaking' -
Until Tuesday afternoon, Hotel Mount View in Pahalgam was sold out for months, manager Abdul Salam told AFP.
But since news of the killings broke, he has been inundated with people scrapping their travel plans.
"This tragedy will paralyse business in Kashmir," he said. "We are trying hard to reassure our customers who may still want to come."
Indian authorities have heavily promoted the mountainous region known for its lush valleys as a holiday destination, both for skiing during the winter months, and to escape the sweltering heat elsewhere in India during the summer.
A string of resorts are being developed, including some close to the heavily militarised de facto border that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan.
India regularly blames Pakistan for backing gunmen behind the insurgency.
Islamabad denies the allegation, saying it only supports Kashmir's struggle for self-determination.
"It's heartbreaking to see the exodus of our guests from the valley after yesterday's tragic terror attack in Pahalgam, but at the same time we totally understand why people would want to leave," Abdullah said in a statement.
India's Director General of Civil Aviation Faiz Ahmed Kidwai issued a letter which called on airlines to "take swift action to increase the number of flights...facilitating the evacuation of tourists".
Air India said Wednesday it had laid on extra flights "in view of the prevailing situation".
Tourist Paras Sawla, from India's financial hub Mumbai, said many visitors were "fearful" after the attack.
He was seeking to get the first flight home that he could.
But the saddest part, he said, was that ordinary Kashmiri people, famous for their hospitality, were doing all they could to help.
"We are not scared of the public here", Sawla said. "They are very supportive, helping out with whatever we need." - AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Colombian Candidate Miguel Uribe Shot, in Critical Condition
BOGOTÁ: A prominent Colombian presidential candidate was in 'grave' condition and 'fighting for his life' in hospital Sunday, after an alleged teen gunman shot him twice in the head at a Bogota campaign rally. Thirty-nine-year-old right-wing Senator Miguel Uribe underwent successful initial surgery to contain injuries from Saturday's attack, but doctors warned his life was still in serious peril. He remains in 'the most grave condition and the prognosis is reserved' said medics at the capital's Santa Fe Clinic. Uribe's shooting has utterly shocked a nation that had believed decades of bloody political and narco violence were largely in the past. Hundreds took to the streets in major cities on Sunday to light candles, pray and voice their anger at the attack. 'Our hearts are broken, Colombia hurts,' Carolina Gomez, a 41-year-old businesswoman, told AFP as she lit candles and prayed outside the hospital where Uribe was being treated. The crowd joined together in cries of 'strength to you Miguel' and 'the people are with you.' Uribe's wife Maria Claudia Tarazona thanked Colombians for their support and asked that they collectively pray for his survival. 'He is fighting hard for his life,' she said. The senator received two gunshot wounds to the head and was also shot once in the leg. Although a security guard at the scene captured the alleged gunman, the motive for the shooting is still not publicly known. Uribe had been a fierce critic of Colombia's leftist government, of guerrilla groups that still control chunks of the country and of ultra-powerful drug cartels. The government has vowed to use every police, military and intelligence resource to uncover the motive and find those who hired the alleged would-be assassin. Police said there had been no specific threats against Uribe's life, but like other public figures he had close personal protection. The young Senator's family history traces the tragedies of modern Colombia, making the attack all the more poignant for many. He is the grandson of a former president Julio Cesar Turbay whose 1978-1982 term was marked by guerrilla insurgencies and the emergence of the Medellin and Cali drug cartels. But Uribe is best known as the son of Diana Turbay, a famed Colombian journalist who was killed after being kidnapped by Pablo Escobar and whose death rocked the nation. 'Day of pain' A team of about 100 investigators are now working to determine the motive for the attack, Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said Sunday. Earlier he had offered a roughly US$725,000 reward for information about who was behind the shooting. The suspect is believed to be about 15 years old was injured in the affray and was receiving treatment, said police director Carlos Fernando Triana. Two others -- a man and a woman -- were also wounded, and a Glock-style firearm was seized. The attack has been condemned by politicians across the political spectrum. Leftist President Gustavo Petro condemned the violence as 'an attack not only against his person, but also against democracy, freedom of thought, and the legitimate exercise of politics in Colombia.' The shooting was similarly condemned from overseas, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling it 'a direct threat to democracy.' But Rubio also pointed blame at Petro, claiming the attack was the 'result of the violent leftist rhetoric coming from the highest levels of the Colombian government.' 'President Petro needs to dial back the inflammatory rhetoric and protect Colombian officials,' the top US diplomat said.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Colombian presidential candidate's condition 'grave' after assassination attempt
BOGOTÁ: A prominent Colombian presidential candidate was in 'grave' condition and 'fighting for his life' in hospital Sunday, after an alleged teen gunman shot him twice in the head at a Bogota campaign rally. Thirty-nine-year-old right-wing Senator Miguel Uribe underwent successful initial surgery to contain injuries from Saturday's attack, but doctors warned his life was still in serious peril. He remains in 'the most grave condition and the prognosis is reserved' said medics at the capital's Santa Fe Clinic. Uribe's shooting has utterly shocked a nation that had believed decades of bloody political and narco violence were largely in the past. Hundreds took to the streets in major cities on Sunday to light candles, pray and voice their anger at the attack. 'Our hearts are broken, Colombia hurts,' Carolina Gomez, a 41-year-old businesswoman, told AFP as she lit candles and prayed outside the hospital where Uribe was being treated. The crowd joined together in cries of 'strength to you Miguel' and 'the people are with you.' Uribe's wife Maria Claudia Tarazona thanked Colombians for their support and asked that they collectively pray for his survival. 'He is fighting hard for his life,' she said. The senator received two gunshot wounds to the head and was also shot once in the leg. Although a security guard at the scene captured the alleged gunman, the motive for the shooting is still not publicly known. Uribe had been a fierce critic of Colombia's leftist government, of guerrilla groups that still control chunks of the country and of ultra-powerful drug cartels. The government has vowed to use every police, military and intelligence resource to uncover the motive and find those who hired the alleged would-be assassin. Police said there had been no specific threats against Uribe's life, but like other public figures he had close personal protection. The young Senator's family history traces the tragedies of modern Colombia, making the attack all the more poignant for many. He is the grandson of a former president Julio Cesar Turbay whose 1978-1982 term was marked by guerrilla insurgencies and the emergence of the Medellin and Cali drug cartels. But Uribe is best known as the son of Diana Turbay, a famed Colombian journalist who was killed after being kidnapped by Pablo Escobar and whose death rocked the nation. 'Day of pain' A team of about 100 investigators are now working to determine the motive for the attack, Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said Sunday. Earlier he had offered a roughly US$725,000 reward for information about who was behind the shooting. The suspect is believed to be about 15 years old was injured in the affray and was receiving treatment, said police director Carlos Fernando Triana. Two others -- a man and a woman -- were also wounded, and a Glock-style firearm was seized. The attack has been condemned by politicians across the political spectrum. Leftist President Gustavo Petro condemned the violence as 'an attack not only against his person, but also against democracy, freedom of thought, and the legitimate exercise of politics in Colombia.' The shooting was similarly condemned from overseas, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling it 'a direct threat to democracy.' But Rubio also pointed blame at Petro, claiming the attack was the 'result of the violent leftist rhetoric coming from the highest levels of the Colombian government.' 'President Petro needs to dial back the inflammatory rhetoric and protect Colombian officials,' the top US diplomat said.
New Straits Times
2 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Rivers as the New Frontlines of Geopolitics
We are used to thinking of power grids, trade routes, and semiconductor fabs as the terrain of 21st-century power competition. But now add rivers—yes, rivers—to that list. Not just as lifelines of civilisation, but as instruments of national leverage. What's unfolding high on the Tibetan plateau, in a canyon deeper than the Grand Canyon and barely touched by modernity, is a tectonic shift—both literal and geopolitical. China's proposed mega-dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo—known downstream as the Brahmaputra—isn't just an engineering feat. It's a declaration. At $137 billion and 60,000 megawatts, it will dwarf even the Three Gorges Dam. But its real power isn't electrical—it's geopolitical. This isn't just about energy. It's about sovereignty, security, and survival in an age where climate instability and great power rivalry are converging. China's Hydro-Imperium: Controlling the Source The dam sits in Tibet, the "Water Tower of Asia," source of major rivers that sustain over a billion people across 10 countries. For Beijing, it's part green transition, part strategic assertion. At one level, it's about reducing coal dependence and meeting net-zero targets. At another, it's about establishing hydro-sovereignty: the idea that whoever controls the headwaters controls the future. This becomes starkly provocative when we consider Asia's hydro-geometry. China sits upstream of the Brahmaputra, Mekong, Irrawaddy, and Salween—rivers that snake into India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand. Unlike India, which is bound by the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan and the Ganges Treaty with Bangladesh, China has signed no binding transboundary water agreements. It prefers soft, bilateral deals—tools it can adjust as strategic needs evolve. India's Strategic Counter: Deterrence Through Waterworks That's why India is alarmed. From New Delhi's perspective, this is not just another dam— it's a hydrological threat vector. It gives China the power to flood, throttle, or reroute a river that nourishes India's northeast, sustains Bangladesh's delta, and symbolises shared South Asian destiny. Indian policymakers worry Beijing could weaponise seasonal flows— triggering sudden surges during monsoons or withholding water during critical planting seasons. That's not paranoia. That's strategic realism in an age of gray-zone conflict. India's response? Not missiles—but megawatts. The revival of its Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP), just downstream of the proposed Chinese dam, is both symbolic and strategic. On paper, it's about power generation. In reality, it's about deterrence. It sends a message: You control the upstream, but we can shape the downstream. And there's more. India's recent suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan— once a pillar of regional stability—marks a sharp turn in water diplomacy. The 1960 World Bank-brokered agreement had weathered decades of war and tension. But following a recent conflict and accusations of cross-border terrorism, India withdrew, citing Islamabad's refusal to renegotiate outdated terms. For Pakistan, which depends heavily on the Indus for irrigation, the implications are severe. And here's the kicker: the Brahmaputra has no treaty at all—no buffer, no arbitrator—just rising stakes and deepening mistrust. Ecology at the Edge: Sacred Lands Under Siege The fallout isn't just political. It's ecological. The Yarlung Tsangpo Canyon is a vertical Eden—home to snow leopards, Bengal tigers, 330-foot-tall cypress trees, and thousands of plant species. It's a living archive of Asia's natural history, shaped over millennia. Yet both Chinese and Indian dam projects threaten to unravel this biodiversity in the name of "national interest." The canyon is sacred to the Indigenous Adi and Monpa peoples, who have lived in its shadow for centuries. But their voices are absent from the rooms where dam blueprints are being drawn. This is no longer just a clash between nations. It's a collision between technocracy and tradition, between megaprojects and memory. Asia's Water Reckoning: From Cooperation to Contestation All of this plays into a larger game—the Asian chessboard of the 21st century. China and India are nominally partners in BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. But beneath that façade lies a contest over spheres of influence, connectivity, and now, hydrology. China's Belt and Road Initiative has already expanded into Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh. Through "dam diplomacy," it's turning infrastructure into influence. India, in turn, is hedging—through its Act East policy, its Quad alignment with the US, Japan, and Australia, and its Indo-Pacific strategy. But none of these frameworks were designed to manage river flows or mediate water disputes. That leaves a strategic vacuum—one that China is swiftly filling with pipelines, rail links, and now, river control. And while Chinese officials insist their mega-dam is safe and non-threatening, the reality is more complex. The site is near a seismic hotspot—just 300 miles from where the strongest inland earthquake on record struck in 1950. A breach triggered by seismic activity could be catastrophic for India, Bangladesh, and the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta. Add melting Himalayan glaciers and climate volatility to the mix, and you have a fragile ecological equation—made more dangerous by opacity and mistrust. What Now? A Blue Bretton Woods for Asia's Rivers So what do we do? We stop pretending this is just a bilateral issue. It's not. This is Asia's water reckoning, and it demands a multilateral response. The world has institutions for trade (WTO), finance (IMF), and carbon (UNFCCC). But for transboundary water governance? We have nothing binding. What we need is a Blue Bretton Woods—a pan-Asian water regime with enforceable rules, real-time data sharing, independent monitoring, and ecological safeguards. Because if hydro-diplomacy collapses into hydro-nationalism, the consequences won't just ripple through Asia—they'll surge. The water wars of the 21st century won't begin with gunfire. They'll begin with closed sluice gates, unpredictable flows, and displaced communities—from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal. Asia's rivers once gave birth to its civilisations. The question now is whether they will define its conflicts—or its cooperation. ————-—————————————————- Author Bio: Samirul Ariff Othman is an international relations analyst and economic commentator. A former senior researcher at the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER), he has written extensively for numerous regional outlets. Currently he is a senior consultant with Global Asia Consulting and an adjunct lecturer at Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP)
