Pahalgam attack spurs near-total shutdown after Kashmiri leaders’ call for bandh

The bodies of the victims were brought to Srinagar’s PCR at around 9 am after completing medico-legal formalities. This comes at a time when the attack has spurred an exodus of tourists from the Valley

The home minister, who was also accompanied by J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, met the families of victims at the PCR. Leader of the Opposition in the J&K Assembly, BJP’s Sunil Sharma also reached PCR Wednesday morning to pay his respects to the victims.

Meanwhile, Srinagar’s near total shutdown comes after several leaders –including Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Mehbooba Mufti and Farooq Abdullah, president of the ruling National Conference — joined a collective call for a bandh in strong condemnation of the Pahalgam terror attack.

Shops, schools and business establishments remained shut throughout Srinagar and in several parts of Kashmir. The attack on tourists was widely condemned by Kashmiri leaders across the political spectrum, with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah calling it “much larger than anything we’ve seen directed at civilians in recent years”.

On Wednesday, amidst a tense situation in the city, several tourists were seen opting to leave Kashmir. The DGCA has issued an advisory on surge ricing for airfares citing “an unexpected demand from tourists seeking to return to their homes.” The situation is also made arduous owing to the shutdown of the Jammu-Srinagar highway due to landslides in the Ramban area due to which parts of the highway have been washed away.

Remarking on tourists exiting the Valley, the chief minister said Wednesday, “It’s heartbreaking to see the exodus of our guests from the Valley after Tuesday’s tragic terror attack in Pahalgam but at the same time, we totally understand why people would want to leave.”

He said that while DGCA and the Ministry of Civil Aviation are working to organise extra flights, NH-44 between Srinagar and Jammu has been reconnected for traffic in a single direction. “I’ve directed the administration to facilitate traffic between Srinagar & Jammu allowing tourist vehicles to leave. This will have to be done in a controlled & organised way because the road is still unstable in places and we are also working hard to clear all the stranded vehicles. We will not be able to permit completely free movement of vehicles at the moment & we hope that everyone will cooperate with us,” Omar added.