Shah Reaches Valley, NIA Likely to Take Over Probe

Union home minister Amit Shah rushed to Srinagar on Tuesday after terrorists, believed by intelligence agencies to be members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), shot dead several tourists in South Kashmir's Pahalgam in one of the deadliest attacks on civilians in the Valley in recent years.

- Neeraj Chauhan

NEW DELHI:

Before departing, Shah briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi, currently on an official visit to Saudi Arabia, and chaired an emergency meeting with top security officials, people aware of the matter said.

"Those involved in this dastardly act of terror will not be spared, and we will come down heavily on the perpetrators with the harshest consequences," Shah wrote on X, expressing anguish over the attack.

The Prime Minister echoed the sentiment: "Their evil agenda will never succeed. Our resolve to fight terrorism is unshakable and it will get even stronger," Modi posted, assuring that "all possible assistance is being provided to those affected."

According to people in intelligence agencies, the attack was executed by four LeT terrorists—three highly trained operatives who recently infiltrated from Pakistan and one local collaborator identified as Adil Thokkar from Bijbehara. The terrorists "incessantly fired upon unsuspecting civilians" using rifles, according to a senior counter-terrorism official who requested anonymity.