Kashmir Responds With Humanity

When terror struck Pahalgam, it was ordinary Kashmiris who rushed in

- Hamid Rather

The stream that runs through this mountain town is usually soft and clear, winding past wooden cottages and whispering forests. On most days, it carries the laughter of tourists and the easy rhythm of ponies led by local horsemen. But on April 22, its calm was broken by gunfire.

Twenty-six tourists, many visiting Kashmir for the first time, were slaughtered, leaving the Valley shaken. The violence wasn't just sudden. It was specific. Survivors say the gunmen pulled the trigger based on profiling. A place known for beauty became a site of brutality.

But even as bullets flew and chaos spread, something else took place. Something quieter, less documented, but no less powerful. Ordinary Kashmiris—Muslims, villagers, horsemen, old women—rushed toward the gunfire, not away from it. They didn’t ask who the victims were. They didn't stop to calculate risk. They simply responded.