Pahalgam terror attack has plunged tourism industry into deep uncertainty

PAHALGAM

APRIL AND MAY are usually the busiest months in Pahalgam, with hotels fully booked and the town bustling with tourists. The icy waters of the Lidder river, snow-covered mountains, alpine forests and meadows leading to Matayan in Kargil and Sonmarg in Ganderbal attract thousands of visitors. This year, however, the atmosphere is markedly different as a pall of gloom hangs over Pahalgam. The roads are largely deserted, and the tourists are gone.

Before the April 22 assault, around 15,000 tourists visited Pahalgam daily, supporting hundreds of taxi drivers, ponywallahs, guides, photographers, hotel owners, shawl vendors and even non-locals selling bhel puri. But within hours of the attack, most tourists cut their trips short, leading to nearly 10,000 job losses in Pahalgam alone. Ghulam Nabi, president of a local transporters association, said even during the worst days of the 1990s, Pahalgam remained safe. “Targeting innocent tourists has scarred us forever. This stain won’t wash away. If they had killed locals, we would have tolerated it, but killing tourists is unacceptable.”

Pahalgam is home to around 1,200 cab drivers who operate from two main taxi stands. Many people have invested their life savings or taken loans to buy vehicles. Following the attack, these drivers offered free rides to fleeing tourists, while hotels waived bills to support traumatised visitors.

Horse owners have also borne the brunt of the tragedy. Around 3,000 of them operate across nine villages in Pahalgam. “We used to earn about Rs1,000 a day,” said Abdul Rehman Raina from Laripora. Renting horses enabled Raina to support his family and educate his children. “Now, we don’t know what will happen,” he said. Although horses are insured by the animal husbandry department against health issues or injuries, it does not cover losses caused by terrorist attacks. “We are landless and have no education; tourism is our only hope,” Raina added.

Said Muhammad Abdullah Lone, president of a local horse owners association, “It is a blot on us. It would have been better if the terrorists had killed us and spared the tourists. We are not bothered about the loss of earnings.”

Hotel owners, too, are suffering. Most are reluctant to speak and attempt to downplay the incident as isolated. “All tourists have left,” said a hotel manager who gave only his first name, Tahir. “Business has dropped by 90 per cent.” Raees Ahmed, manager of a Pahalgam hotel, echoed the sentiment: “We had good occupancy. Now everybody has left. Bookings have been cancelled.” Javid Bashir Burza, president of the hotel owners’ association and owner of the area’s only five-star hotel, called the attack a massive blow. “Pahalgam has 15,000 beds for tourists, including homestays,” he said. “This tragedy has devastated us. Kashmir has never seen anything like this before.”

Amid harrowing reports of how terrorists separated men from women and children before shooting them, stories of extraordinary bravery from local guides and ponywallahs have emerged. Among them is the account of cousins Hussain and Syed Nazakat, whose courage stood out. Hussain, a resident of Hapatnaar, 20km from Pahalgam, was the eldest of three siblings and the sole breadwinner for his family. Security personnel now guard his home. Under a tent in the courtyard, his father, Syed Haider Shah, sat quietly among mourners. Shah said his son died protecting tourists. “A tourist was shot by terrorists, and his daughter tried to shield him,” he said. “Hussain asked the girl to run and save her life.”

Hussain then confronted the terrorists, demanding to know why they were attacking innocent people. A heated exchange followed, and the terrorists shot him four times. He died on the spot. “He gave his life to save innocent tourists and uphold the honour of Kashmir,” Shah said. “His courage has shown the world who we truly are.”

While Hussain made the ultimate sacrifice, Nazakat, who was accompanying Chhattisgarh BJP leader Arvind S. Agarwal and his family, showed presence of mind and bravery during the chaos. “When the firing intensified, I instructed everyone to lie down. I picked up Agarwal’s daughter and ran through a broken section of the fence,” Nazakat said. “We escaped through the jungle, running nearly seven or eight kilometres over mud and rough terrain.” Two people from the group went missing, but Nazakat tracked them down with help from some horse owners. Despite the loss of his cousin, he accompanied all 11 members of the Agarwal family to Jammu, and on April 24, they left for Chhattisgarh.

The killing of tourists has sparked widespread outrage across Kashmir. Hundreds gathered in Pahalgam to condemn the attack and demand justice. Protesters chanted slogans such as “Hum Hindustani hain, Hindustan hamara hai (We are Indians, India is ours)”. In a rare show of unity, political parties and even the separatist Hurriyat Conference condemned the attack. A strike called for April 23 received widespread support, with schools, shops and transport services shutting down.

Religious leaders also backed the strike. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, head of the Mutahida Majlis Ulema (MMU), a coalition of Islamic organisations in Kashmir, called the killings “a heinous crime” and urged peaceful protest. He described the incident as “another day of bloodshed in Kashmir’s painful history,” stating it was against the principles of Islam and humanity. The grand mufti of Jammu and Kashmir, Mufti Nasir-ul-Islam, also supported the strike and urged solidarity in mourning.

At Srinagar’s Dal Lake, most shikaras remain idle. “There is no work. Ninety per cent of the tourists who were staying in houseboats and hotels around the lake have left. Others have cancelled their bookings,” said Bashir Ahmed, a shikara owner. The government’s decision to temporarily close 48 of 87 tourist destinations in Kashmir after the attack has made things even worse for the industry.

Despite the fear created by the attack, a small number of tourists have decided to stay put. A group of 13 tourists from Karnataka arrived in Pahalgam four days after the attack. “We were shocked when we heard about the incident,” said Bharat Kumar Jain, a tourist. “But Kashmir is known for its natural beauty, and we couldn’t leave without seeing it.” The group, consisting of friends and family, included five men, four women and four children. They were in Gulmarg when the attack took place. “We decided to continue our trip and see other places,” said Jain. “Who knows whether we will come to Kashmir again?” Another member of the group, Vijay Kumar, a businessman, said it was heartbreaking to hear about the killings. “But that is life. We are happy we came,” he said.