Tourists killing in Pahalgam coinciding with the visit of US vice president reopens old wounds
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in News/ April 22,2025
Today’s brutal killing of tourists in Jammu and Kashmir coinciding with the visit of US Vice President JD Vance to India has once reminded the black day of March 20,2000 when 36 innocent Sikh villagers were killed hours before the then American President Bill Clinton’s India visit.
The exact number of those killed in today’s incident is not yet confirmed as government has released the names if 16 dead and 10 injured persons admitted in hospitals. Omar Abdullah, chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir has shared on his official social media account “The death toll is still being ascertained so I don’t want to get in to those details. They will be officially conveyed as the situation becomes clearer. Needless to say this attack is much larger than anything we’ve seen directed at civilians in recent years”.
But as per The Hindu*, at least 25 people have been killed after terrorists struck a prime tourist location of Pahalgam in South Kashmir on Tuesday (April 22, 2025).
Today’s killing has reminded the inhuman killing of 36 innocent Sikh villagers in Chittsinghpora village of Anantnag district in Jammu & Kashmir on the night of March 20, 2000, hours before the then American President Bill Clinton’s India visit, had rocked the nation.
As per reports, the massacre was the handiwork of a group of 16 to 17 terrorists, including 6 militants of Hizbul Mujahideen and 11-12 foreign mercenaries owing allegiance to the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT). In pursuance of their plan, on the night of March 20, 2000, the group had divided itself into two and proceeded to Akalipora and Showkeenpora mohallas of village Chittsinghpora. On reaching the spot, they called out all the males along with their local headman and shot them. After carrying out the heinous crime, the group divided itself into 3 parts.
It is significant that the timing of the massacre coincided with the visit of the President of the US to India. Obviously, the terrorist groups and their Pakistani mentors wanted to create trouble to overshadow the visit. It is also significant that this was the first large-scale attack of terrorist group on the Sikhs in Jammu & Kashmir.
Tourists killing in Pahalgam coinciding with the visit of US vice president reopens old wounds.* (Pahalgam terror attack LIVE: Foreign tourists among more than 20 killed; Amit Shah in Srinagar to review security situation)
