Not a single security person was present: Wife of victim

Hans India

25-04-2025

New Delhi: Two days after the heartbreaking Pahalgam attack, Shital Kalathiya, wife of Shailesh Kalathiya, one among the 26 victims, remembering the details of the incident said that they had just reached the top of Mini Switzerland and had sat down for a meal when they heard the firing.
'We had just reached Mini Switzerland when the firing had started. It happened twice, and after the second shot, everyone started running. They surrounded us and asked the Hindu men to separate from the Muslim men...We were all silent and were just hoping that they would go away. But everything just happened in a second. They watched all of them die... there was nothing I could do,' the wife said speaking to ANI.
Still in shock, Shital stated how she had only seen this happening in movies and also questioned the absence of security at the spot.
Naksh, the son of the deceased said that they were a family of four who had gone on the trip. 'We were four of us who went, including my father, my mother and my sister,' he said.
Shiv Sena(UBT) in a scathing editorial in its mouthpiece 'Saamana' has claimed that terrorism in J&K is not over yet and the Kashmir policy has failed during Modi's tenure. The party said this will happen when an 'atmosphere of religious hatred is created in the country'.
'This issue will not be resolved by threatening Pakistan. Such threats make PM Modi's devotees feel good. Pakistan's back was left to be broken. In Pahalgam, terrorists attacked the back of the fake saviours of Hindus. It further alleged that PM Modi and other leaders are giving empty threats and warnings to Pakistan to enter their homes. In reality, terrorists are entering India by crossing the border and killing innocent Hindus. Kashmir is in turmoil under the BJP rule. What else will happen when an atmosphere of religious hatred is created in the entire country?'
'Most of those killed are Hindus. Some are Muslims. After Pulwama, the Pahalgam attack was a complete failure of the intelligence agencies. Where has the National Security Advisor, who poses as James Bond, gone? Prime Minister Modi repeatedly says that this country is in safe hands. PM Modi lies. When PM Modi announced demonetization, he said, 'Now the backs of terrorists will be broken.' When Amit Shah abrogated Article 370 and made Jammu and Kashmir a Union Territory, he announced, 'Now terrorism in the valley is over'. But here, rivers of blood are flowing every day and his spit of lies is mixing with it,' said the editorial while upping the criticism against the BJP-led government at the Centre.
'Terrorism in the Kashmir Valley is not over. Since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, 197 security personnel have been killed in Kashmir. 135 civilians have been killed. 700 suspected militants have been killed. This is not a sign that the violence in the Valley has ended. Hindus are being 'targeted', and the promises made by Modi for the Kashmiri Pandits in the 2014 elections have not yet been fulfilled. Not only have Kashmiri Pandits not returned home, but the remaining Hindus are also fleeing. The BJP government, which calls itself the saviour of Hindus, should be ashamed of this,' the editorial said.