Tharoor says terrorists who attacked ‘non-Muslims’ in Kashmir had a grand design

A day after militants affiliated to the dreaded Lashkar-e-Taiba reportedly singled out non-Muslim male tourists for attack in the holiday destination of Pahalgam, South Kashmir, Congress lawmaker Shashi Tharoor appealed to all Indians not to fall into the designs of Pakistan-trained terrorists, whom he said are bent upon destabilising the country by dividing it based on faith.

By saying so, Tharoor has distanced himself from the narrative sold by the rest of the opposition leaders who refuse to describe the latest bout of terror strikes in Kashmir as violence targeted at Hindus. He shared his views on X while he was away from the mainland, attending a Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs in Lakshadweep.

Survivors of the attack, many of them women and children, had recounted in videos shared on social media that the Pahalgam militants had asked their male relatives and friends for their ID cards to check their religious identity. They also pulled down the pants of some others and asked them to recite kalma, a declaration of faith in Islam.

“While connectivity is still a challenge where we are, the sketchy details we are able to receive on social media speak of outrageous atrocities, targeting specifically male tourists who were not Muslim,” Tharoor posted on X on April 23, a day after the attack. He went on to add, “I call on all my fellow citizens, irrespective of faith, to stand up against this foul attempt by Islamist terrorists to divide us in the name of religious identity.”

Tharoor said that the murderers’ evil designs must not be allowed to succeed.

A day earlier – just after the shocking attack took place targeting unarmed civilians – Tharoor had posted on X to say, “The news has just come in of the horrifying and cowardly terrorist attack on tourists in Pahalgam, Kashmir. I join all those who unreservedly condemn this heinous crime, which is an assault, not just on India, but on the rights of the people of Kashmir to live in peace & thrive as a premier tourist destination in our country. I strongly support the efforts of the national and state authorities to deal with the perpetrators and bring these criminals to justice.”

As many as 26 people have been killed in the Pahalgam attack. The timing of the terror strike coincides with the official visit of US Vice-President JD Vance to India. It comes ahead of the busy tourist season in Pahalgam, which is the base for the popular Amarnath yatra that commences in July.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who cut short his official visit to Saudi Arabia and returned to India, held meetings with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar at the Delhi airport upon his arrival on Wednesday to take stock of the situation. For his part, Home Minister Amit Shah, who reached Srinagar the previous night, met with senior officials in Jammu and Kashmir to review security arrangements.

Jammu and KashmirLeTPahalgamPakistanShashi Tharoorterror attack