Authorities shutter dozens of tourist resorts in Indian-controlled
Kashmir following deadly attack
[April 29, 2025]
By AIJAZ HUSSAIN and SHEIKH SAALIQ
SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Authorities in Indian-controlled Kashmir have
temporarily shuttered more than half of the 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.
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-authorized resorts was a precautionary safety measure. They
did not specify for 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 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.
The region 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.
There was no comment from Pakistan, and the incidents could not be
independently verified. In the past, each side has accused the other of
starting border skirmishes in the Himalayan region.
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.
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A locked garden gate is seen in Srinagar after it was closed by
authorities as a precautionary safety measure following last week's
deadly attack on tourists near the resort town of Pahalgam, Indian
controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)
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 “over ground 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 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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Associated Press writer Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this
report.
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