Modi cuts short Saudi trip, slams deadly attack in Kashmir

Those behind act that killed mostly tourists will be brought to justice’, vows India’s PM

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SRINAGAR, India - Gunmen killed as many as 26 people in Indian-administered Kashmir, one of the worst attacks in years on civilians in the region, prompting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to cut short his trip to Saudi Arabia and summon an urgent meeting with his top ministers.

At least 17 people were also injured in the attack, when suspected militants opened fire at tourists in India's Jammu and Kashmir territory, the police said on April 23.

It was the worst attack on civilians in India since the 2008 Mumbai shootings in which more than 160 people were killed. The latest attack shattered the relative calm in Kashmir, where tourism has boomed as an anti-India insurgency has waned in recent years.

The attack took place on April 22 in the Pahalgam area, a popular tourist destination in the scenic Himalayan federal territory and about 90km east of Srinagar Visitor arrivals hit a record high of more than three million in 2024, from fewer than 831,000 in 2018, as India's growing middle class splurged on travel post-Covid-19, government data showed.

The attack occurred in an offthe-road meadow and the dead included 25 Indians and one Nepalese national, the police said.

The gunmen fired indiscriminately at tourists, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.