A devastating attack in the disputed Himalayan region of Jammu and Kashmir killed over two dozen tourists, prompting worries of another military escalation between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan.
In the aftermath of the region’s bloodiest assault on civilians in years, New Delhi cut ties with Islamabad, recalled its top diplomat, stopped participation in a critical water sharing deal for the first time, and closed a major border crossing, among other punitive actions.
All but one of the 26 individuals killed were Indian citizens, sparking a new wave of violence in a region claimed by both Pakistan and India and the site of frequent violent territorial disputes between the two countries.
For decades, multiple local militant organizations have fought Indian security forces in Kashmir, demanding either independence or integration into Pakistan, killing tens of thousands.
On Wednesday, India accused Pakistan of sponsoring regional terrorist groups after The Resistance Front, a little-known militant group, claimed responsibility.
Pakistan has denied all involvement.
At least 25 Indian people and one Nepalese national were killed in the massacre, which occurred in a meadow in the Baisaran Valley, which can only be reached by foot or horseback.
Eyewitnesses described scenes of horror as the gunmen approached, opening fire on tourists in from close range.
A little-known militant group called The Resistance Front claimed responsibility for the attack on social media, voicing discontent at “outsiders” who settled in the region and caused a “demographic change.”
Indian authorities have heightened police and military deployment to the region and personnel are on the hunt for the perpetrators.
Kashmir Resistance, also known as The Resistance Front (TRF), is a relatively new militant outfit that has claimed killings of civilians from minority communities residing in Kashmir in recent years.
The arrival of TRF is portrayed as the “inception of a new indigenous resistance in Kashmir,” ORF said in 2021.
India has classified TRF as a “terrorist organization” and linked it to the outlawed Islamist group, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, which was behind the deadly Mumbai attacks in 2008 and has a much higher profile.
