Days before Pahalgam, agencies had flagged intel on potential attack in Srinagar: Report | India News

NEW DELHI: Days before terrorists gunned down 26 vacationers in a brutal bloodbath in Pahalgam, intelligence agencies had sounded the alarm a couple of doable attack on guests staying close to Srinagar’s scenic foothills, in accordance with a report by PTI citing official sources.
Acting on these inputs, safety forces elevated patrolling round areas like Dachigam and Nishat, with senior police officers stationed in Srinagar.
The focus was heightened after a terror strike in Gangangir, Sonamarg final October, which left seven individuals lifeless.
Despite a two-week-long search operation primarily based on these inputs, no breakthroughs had been made, and the mission was referred to as off on the very day of the Pahalgam attack.
Officials consider the terrorists might have aimed to disrupt the deliberate go to of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to flag off the primary practice from Katra to Srinagar — an occasion seen as symbolic of Kashmir’s integration with the remainder of the nation. Although the PM’s go to, initially set for April 19, was postponed resulting from inclement climate, sources recommend Pakistan-based parts might have needed to overshadow it with violence.
According to preliminary assessments, two native terrorists had blended in with the vacationers in Valley’s Pahalgam.
When the capturing started, they herded the group to a meals courtroom, the place two Pakistani terrorists opened hearth.
Officials see the attack as an try to instill worry and presumably provoke retaliatory violence towards Kashmiris in different components of India. Swift intervention by chief minister Omar Abdullah and coordination with New Delhi helped preempt such outcomes, with states requested to make sure the protection of Kashmiri residents.
Security officers have additionally flagged a shift in the character of militancy in J&Ok, citing recoveries of superior weapons – together with M-series rifles and armour-piercing bullets — presumably sourced from Nato stockpiles left behind in Afghanistan.
Cautioning towards utilizing vacationer numbers as a barometer of peace, officers referenced the 2006 incident the place 4 vacationers had been killed in Srinagar quickly after a former CM had claimed peace primarily based on rising vacationer footfall. “Tourism should be viewed as an economic activity, not a measure of normalcy in a conflict zone,” one official stated.
On issues about Baisaran being closed to vacationers, officers clarified it stays open year-round besides throughout the Amarnath Yatra and snowfall. A contract was awarded final 12 months for vacationer operations, and new services like a zipline have been added.