In a horrifying terror attack that shook Kashmir’s picturesque Baisaran meadow in Pahalgam, Pakistan-based terrorists opened fire on a group of tourists on Tuesday, killing at least 28 people and injuring several others. Two officers from Indian Navy and the Intelligence Bureau were also among the deceased.

However, what is even more disturbing is that tourists were singled out on the basis of their religion and shot at when they failed to perform a task assigned by the terrorists.

My father was asked to recite an Islamic verse by terrorists: Pune’s Asavari Jagdale

Asavari Jagdale, a 26-year-old Human Resource professional from Pune, recounted the horrific experience of her family during the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir. Her father, Santosh Jagdale, 54, was asked to recite an Islamic verse by terrorists, and when he failed, they shot him thrice in the head, behind the ear, and back.

“They then asked my father to recite an Islamic verse (probably the Kalma). When he failed to do so, they pumped three bullets into him, one on the head, one behind the ear and another in the back,” she said.

After Santosh Jagdale collapsed, the gunmen turned to his brother who was lying near him and shot him several times in the back.

Then the terrorists blamed the tourists for supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after which they made some statements to deny that Kashmiri militants kill innocent people, women and children, recalled Asavari.

‘Go tell Modi,’ Pahalgam attacker said after killing my husband: Survivor from Karnataka

Manjunath, a resident of Karnataka’s Shivamogga, was killed in a terror attack while travelling with his family in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on Tuesday. The victim had travelled to the valley with his wife Pallavi and their son.

The deceased’s wife Pallavi recounted the horror. “Three of us – me, my husband and our son – had gone to Kashmir. It happened around 1.30 pm, I think. We were at Pahalgam. He died on the spot, in front of my eyes,” she said, adding, “It still feels like a bad dream.”

Pallavi added that local civilians stepped in to help her immediately after the attack. “Three local people rescued me,” she said. According to her, the attackers seemed to be targeting Hindus. “Three to four people attacked us. I told them – kill me too, you’ve already killed my husband. One of them said, ‘I won’t kill you. Go tell this to Modi’.”

Uttar Pradesh resident Shubham Dwivedi told to recite Islamic verse, then shot

Married for just two months, Kanpur resident Shubham Dwivedi, 28, and his wife were travelling in Pahalgam along with other family members, when the former was targeted by the terrorists.

According to eyewitnesses, the terrorists asked if the couple were Muslim and told them to recite the Kalma, an Islamic declaration of faith. Speaking to the media, Shubham’s cousin said, “Bhaiya and bhabhi were eating Maggi, when two people in uniform came to them, and asked are you Muslim, if yes, then recite the Kalma.”

When they failed to do so, the gunmen shot Shubham in his head. “They shot bhaiya in the head, and then pointed the gun at bhabhi and said ‘tell your government what we have done’,” his cousin told the media.

LeT-linked organisation The Resistance Front claims responsibility

The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the banned Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), claimed responsibility for the attack. The organisation is backed by Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI. The Resistance Front is allegedly linked to the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). The outfit is considered a proxy of LeT founder and 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed.