Kashmir Closes Tourist Sites Amid Fresh Terror Threat Warnings
The Jammu and Kashmir government on Tuesday shut down 48 of the region's 87 tourist sites after intelligence agencies warned of imminent terror threats following last week's attack in Pahalgam.
Intercepted communications indicate sleeper cells activated in the aftermath of the April 22 assault on Baisaran Valley have received instructions to strike security forces and non-local visitors, according to officials familiar with the briefings.
Security sources say Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence is targeting non-local residents, CID officers and members of the Kashmiri Pandit community in Srinagar and Ganderbal districts. Ongoing reports warn militants across north, central and south Kashmir are planning both targeted killings and a larger retaliatory operation after authorities demolished homes of active terrorists post-Pahalgam.
Intelligence assessments also flagged railway infrastructure as a likely target, given the number of non-local railway employees in the valley. Railway security personnel have been ordered to remain within their camps and barracks until further notice.
In response, the Special Operations Group of the Jammu and Kashmir Police has deployed anti-fidayeen teams to key tourist hubs—including Gulmarg, Sonamarg and the Dal Lake area—which remain open under heightened security.
Sites placed off-limits include Dooshpathri, Kokernag, Duksum, Sinthan Top, Acchabal, Bangus Valley, Margan Top, Tosamaidan, Astanpora, Kousarnag, Doodpathri, Ringawali Tangmarg, Habba Khatoon Point and Kawnar, among others.
On April 22, attackers based in Pakistan opened fire on holidaymakers in Pahalgam's Baisaran Valley, killing 26 people, most of them tourists. The carnage prompted a wave of departures from Kashmir even as visitors had begun to return, particularly to Pahalgam.
Security forces have since launched coordinated raids across the state, detaining hundreds of suspects and sympathizers in their search for the perpetrators, which included at least one local militant. Dozens of active terrorists' homes have been destroyed as part of the intensified anti-terror campaign.
The National Investigation Agency, which is leading the probe into the Pahalgam attack, has reconstructed the crime scene on site and plans to question zipline staff and survivors such as Gujarati tourist Rishi Bhatt, whose video captured the assailants.
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