PAHALGAM TERROR AND DIPLOMATIC ESCALATION

The twenty-five tourists, including one Nepali, were taking in the calming beauty of Baisaran meadow, near Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, when they were gunned down brutally by terrorists on April 22, 2025.

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Pony driver Syed Adil Hussain Shah, 28, from Anantnag's Hapatnar, who bravely tried to protect the tourists was also killed in the gruesome attack that has shaken India.

'The meadow cries out in fear and grief", The Hindu's Srinagar correspondent Peerzada Ashiq wrote in this moving Ground Zero feature from Pahalgam. Multiple accounts of survivors pointed to the thoughtful help extended by Kashmiris, including pony driver Mr. Shah. Scores of locals joined his last rites, to honour his heroic attempt to ward off the attack on tourists at Pahalgam's Baisaran.

As the mortal remains of victims reached their homes, relatives raised questions over the absence of any security presence in the area frequented by thousands of tourists, Vijaita Singh and Dinakar Peri write.

Devastating impact

The trail of terror is devastating. No amount of time, and no consolation ever makes it easier for survivors and families of victims to cope with their shocking loss of a loved one, amid rage, despair, and many troubling questions.