Actor Ishaan Khatter on Thursday mourned the death of innocent tourists in the Pahalgam terror attack, urging Indians to stand united and not let religious hatred divide them.
Ishaan, who visited Pahalgam two months back to shoot for the music video of the song Pyaar Aata Hai with Tara Sutaria, took to his Instagram stories to express his condolences.
“On a personal note, I'd like to say this. I was in Pahalgam barely 2 months ago. I have always felt a deep connection and love for Kashmir and have always found the people to be kind and helpful. I've met some beautiful souls there. My heart aches to imagine the loss that the victims of these awful attacks are facing,” he wrote.
“Let's not forget Kashmir has long been damaged. A place that is often called heaven on earth is deeply wounded by acts like these and the lives of its people indelibly affected. We stand to be tested not for our politics, not for our religion but for our HUMANITY,” he added.
On Tuesday afternoon, terrorists opened fire at a well-known meadow near Pahalgam, killing 26 people — most of them tourists — in the deadliest assault the Baisaran Valley has witnessed since the 2019 Pulwama attack.
According to eyewitnesses, the terrorists asked the victims their religion before opening fire.
“Let's never forget and let's direct our collective anger towards accounting for JUSTICE and not blind hatred. Let's be what these pathetic assailants want us to forget we really are - Human beings, with sensitivity, reasoning and thoughtfulness”.
In response to the terror attack, the ministry of external affairs suspended the Indus Waters Treaty and shut down the checkposts at the Attari-Wagah border. On Thursday, the Indian government announced that all visas for Pakistani nationals will be revoked with effect from April 27 and asked Indian citizens living in Pakistan to return to India as tension continues to grow. Pakistani nationals have also been banned from travelling to India as per the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme.
Ishaan was last seen in Netflix’s miniseries The Perfect Couple, also starring Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Eve Hewson, Billy Howle, Meghann Fahy, Donna Lynne Champlin, Jack Reynor and Michael Beach. The series premiered on September 5 last year.
Ishaan is currently gearing up for his upcoming Netflix series The Royals, also starring Bhumi Pednekar, Zeenat Aman, Sakshi Tanwar, Nora Fatehi, Dino Morea, Milind Soman, Chunky Panday and Vihaan Samat. The show is set to stream on Netflix from May 9.
