Pahalgam terror attack: PM Modi calls Amit Shah from Saudi Arabia, asks home minister to visit site

Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his two-day visit to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called Home Minister Amit Shah on the Pahalgam terror attack and asked him to take all suitable measures, according to government sources.

PM Modi also asked Shah to visit the site. Shah has called a meeting at his home in Delhi, which was reprotedly attended by Intelligence Bureau Chief Tapan Deka and Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, the sources said. CRPF chief Gyanendra Pratap Singh, J&K Director General of Police Nalin Prabhatand some Army officials also joined the meeting through video conferencing.

PM Modi left for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday on a two-day visit to the kingdom on the invitation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. India and Saudi Arabia are set to sign at least six memoranda of understanding (MoUs).

The Lieutenant Governor directed officials to extend medical assistance to those injured. Manoj Sinha in a social media post said: “I assure the people that those behind this despicable attack will not go unpunished. Spoke to the DGP & Security officials. Army and J&K Police teams have rushed to the area and launched search operations".

At least 12 tourists were injured in a terrorist attack in Pahalgam in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, officials said. The attack took place at Baisaran, a meadow accessible only by foot or ponies, where a group of tourists had gone visiting this morning, they said.

According to an eyewitness, unidentified gunmen opened fire on the tourists from close range, resulting in injuries to several persons.

"My husband was shot in the head while seven others were also injured in the attack," a woman survivor told PTI over phone.

The woman did not identify herself but pleaded for help in evacuating the injured to the hospital.

Authorities pressed a chopper into service for the evacuation of the injured, the officials said, adding some of the wounded were brought down from the meadows by local people on their ponies. A doctor at the Pahalgam hospital said 12 injured tourists were admitted there and the condition of all of them was stable.

A little earlier, security forces rushed to Baisaran meadows in Pahalgam tourist town after sounds of gunfire were heard, a senior police official said here.

The incident comes when Kashmir is witnessing a surge in tourist arrivals after reeling under militancy for years.

Also, the 38-day Amarnath pilgrimage is scheduled to begin on July 3. Lakhs of pilgrims from across the country travel to the cave shrine from the twin routes -- the traditional 48-km Pahalgam route in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district and the 14-km shorter but steep Baltal route in Ganderbal district.