Authorities in Indian-controlled Kashmir temporarily closed dozens of tourist resorts in the scenic Himalayan region after last week's deadly attack on tourists raised tensions between India and Pakistan and led to an intensifying security crackdown in Kashmir, reports UNB via AP.
At least two police officers and three administrative officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with departmental policy, said Tuesday that the decision to shut 48 of the 87 government-authorised resorts was a safety precaution. They did not specify how long these places would be out of bounds for visitors.
The decision comes a week after gunmen killed 26 people, most of them Indian tourists, near the resort town of Pahalgam.
The massacre set off tit-for-tat diplomatic measures between India and Pakistan that included the cancellation of visas and a recall of diplomats. New Delhi also suspended a crucial water sharing treaty with Islamabad and ordered its border shut with Pakistan. In response, Pakistan has closed its airspace to Indian airlines.
India accuses Pakistan of backing the attack
India has described the massacre as a "terror attack" and accused Pakistan of backing it. Pakistan has denied any connection to the attack, and it was claimed by a previously unknown militant group calling itself the Kashmir Resistance.
Some tourists who survived the massacre have told Indian media that the gunmen singled out Hindu men and shot them from close range. The dead included a Nepalese citizen and a local Muslim pony ride operator.
Kashmir is split between India and Pakistan and claimed by both in its entirety. New Delhi describes all militancy in Indian-controlled Kashmir as Pakistan-backed terrorism. Pakistan denies this, and many Muslim Kashmiris consider the militants to be part of a home-grown freedom struggle.
Tensions spike between India and Pakistan
As tensions escalate, cross-border firing between soldiers of India and Pakistan has also increased along the Line of Control, the de facto frontier that separates Kashmiri territory between the two rivals. On Tuesday, the Indian army in a statement said it had responded to "unprovoked" small arms fire from multiple Pakistan army posts for a fifth consecutive night.
The incidents could not be independently verified. In the past, each side has accused the other of starting border skirmishes in the Himalayan region.
Early Wednesday, Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said Islamabad had credible intelligence that India intended to carry out military action against Pakistan in the next 24-36 hours over the "baseless and concocted allegations of involvement" in the Pahalgam attack.
He said in the statement that Pakistan would respond to any such action, and the responsibility for any consequences of the escalation lay with India.
Indian officials had no immediate comment.
The U.S. State Department called for deescalation and said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would be speaking soon to the Indian and Pakistani foreign ministers.
Pakistani troops shot down a small Indian spy drone that flew hundreds of meters into Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, three Pakistani security officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity as they weren't allowed to speak to the media. The drone was shot down on Monday in the border town of Bhimber, they said.
Meanwhile, government forces in the region have detained and questioned nearly 2,000 people, officials and residents said. Many of the detained are former rebels fighting against Indian rule and others who officials describe as "overground workers" of militants, a term authorities use for civilians suspected of associating with insurgents.
Indian soldiers have demolished the family homes of at least nine suspected militants across Kashmir, using explosives.
The region's top pro-India leaders have supported action against suspected militants but also questioned the demolitions.
Omar Abdullah, the region's chief minister, said Monday that any heavy-handed tactics against civilians should be avoided. "We should not take any step that will alienate people," Abdullah told the region's lawmakers during a legislative session.
Ruhullah Mehdi, a lawmaker from the region in India's national parliament, termed the demolitions of homes as "collective punishment."
Cancellations overwhelm the Kashmir tourism industry
Indian tourism has flourished in Kashmir after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government promoted visits to the region with the hope of showing rising tourism numbers as a sign of renewed stability there.
Millions of visitors arrive in Kashmir to see its Himalayan foothills and exquisitely decorated houseboats, despite regular skirmishes between insurgents and government forces. According to official data, close to 3 million tourists visited the region in 2024, a rise from 2.71 million visitors in 2023 and 2.67 million in 2022.
But last week's attack has left many tourists scared, and some have left the region. Widespread cancellations are also being reported by tour operators, with some estimates putting the number at more than 1 million.
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