"This is a murder of humanity and all of Kashmir. It would have been better had the terrorists killed us, the Kashmiris. This was a cowardly act. This is the first time I have seen such an incident. All of Kashmir is in shock. All shops are shut. Anywhere you go you will see grief.”
That is what Sajad Ahmad Bhat, a resident of Pahalgam, told PTI Videos on Thursday morning, two days after terrorists gunned down at least 26 people, mostly tourists, in an idyllic meadow surrounded by pine trees.
A video of Sajad, a shawl seller, carrying an injured tourist on his back to safety after the attack, is all over social media.
Bhat, along with other members of the local pony association, was among the first to reach the site of the attack and assist in evacuation efforts.
Sajad told another news agency, ANI, that the Pahalgam Pony Association president, Abdul Waheed Wan, had messaged the association group about the incident in Baisaran Valley.
"So we went with him and reached the location around 3pm,” Sajad said. “We gave water to the injured and lifted those who could not walk. Humanity comes before religion. It is our duty to help the tourists as they are our guests, and our livelihood depends on them.”
Several injured individuals were carried down the slope on their backs, while others were provided with water and basic first-aid.
“We did not care about our own lives because when we went there, people were pleading for help. When I saw the tourists crying, tears came to my eyes. Their arrival lights up the lamps in our houses. Our life is incomplete without them," he said.
Salman Nizami, spokesperson of the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP), condemned the attack and highlighted the actions of the local rescuers.
"A local Kashmiri Muslim carried an injured victim to safety, risking his life. Yet the narrative runs that such attacks aren’t possible without local support. Shame on these Islamophobics. Kashmiriyat is alive—we stand against violence on innocents!" Nizami posted on X on Wednesday.
Targeting Pakistan following the attack in Pahalgam, India on Wednesday downgraded diplomatic ties with it and announced a raft of measures, including expulsion of Pakistani military attaches, suspension of the Indus Water Treaty of 1960 and immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit post.
