SRINAGAR, April 25 — What was supposed to be a peaceful escape into the breathtaking meadows of Baisaran Valley turned into a nightmare etched in blood and silence. The air, once filled with laughter from families enjoying a brief break from the heat of the Indian plains, was shattered by the sudden echo of gunfire.
Twenty-six men—fathers, sons, brothers, husbands—were ruthlessly executed. Women and children, spared physically, were left with emotional wounds that words can barely describe.
They came from the forest, armed and calculated. Survivors say the attackers—identified by Indian authorities as two Pakistani nationals and one Indian—stormed out of the pines and opened fire with chilling precision. Many say the assailants wore body cameras, recording the carnage as if to boast or send a message.
Pallavi, whose husband was shot in front of her, begged to be killed too. But the gunmen refused. “Go tell Modi,” they said. Her voice trembled as she recalled those words—words meant not just to taunt, but to traumatize a nation.
“They spared me,” she said, “only to make me carry their message.”
Others were forced to prove their religion—demanded to recite Islamic verses at gunpoint. Shubham Dwivedi’s cousin recounted the moment a gun was pointed at his head. “They asked if he was Muslim,” he said. “When he couldn’t respond, they shot him. His wife was spared.”
The survivors are not just statistics. They are broken families. Shital Kalathiya lost her husband. Her world collapsed. “There was no security there. Not a single one,” she said through tears. “Why were we allowed up there if they knew it wasn’t safe?”
As New Delhi and Islamabad exchange accusations—India blaming Pakistan for harboring militants, Pakistan denying any role—the people are left to mourn. No headline, no press release, can capture the silence left behind in those valleys.
These are not just victims. They were loved. They are missed. And their stories—heartbreaking, human, real—deserve to be heard.
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