Surat (Gujarat) [India], April 24: Two days after the devastating terror attack in Pahalgam, survivor Shital Kalathiya, whose husband Shailesh Kalathiya was among the 26 victims, recounted the harrowing events that unfolded at the Baisaran meadow, also known as Mini Switzerland.
“We had just reached the top and were sitting down to eat when the firing started,” said Shital, still visibly shaken. “It happened twice. After the second shot, everyone started running. The terrorists surrounded us and asked Hindu men to separate from Muslim men. We stayed silent, praying they’d go away. But… everything happened so fast. They killed them right in front of us… I couldn’t do anything.”
Struggling to process the trauma, Shital expressed disbelief and deep concern over the lack of security in the area. “We’ve only seen such things in movies, never imagined it in real life. What hurt the most was that not even a single security personnel was present. If it was risky, why let people go there?”
Her son Naksh, who was also on the trip, said the family of four had gone together — “my father, my mother, my sister, and me.”
Locals who rushed to help after the attack described scenes of chaos and heartbreak. Sajad Ahmad Bhat, a shawl vendor from Pahalgam, was seen in a widely shared video carrying an injured tourist to safety.
“I got a message from Abdul Waheed Wan, the head of the Pahalgam Pony Association, about the attack,” said Bhat. “We rushed to help. We gave water, carried the injured. Humanity comes before religion — these tourists are our guests. When they cry, we cry. They bring light to our homes. Our lives are incomplete without them.”
The terrorist assault at Baisaran claimed 25 Indian lives and one Nepalese national, with many more injured. It stands as one of the deadliest attacks in Kashmir since Pulwama in 2019, where 40 CRPF personnel were killed.