Pahalgam Terror Attack: Five days later, business returns slowly to town, tourists say ‘feeling very safe’

Pahalgam terror attack: Just five days after a horrifying terror attack took the lives of 26 civilians, Pahalgam is seeing a slow recovery as tourists were seen returning in the usually-peaceful town on Sunday.

In the aftermath of the deadly attack, a wave of resilience and optimism has been sweeping through the Valley. What was once a bustling hub with 5,000 to 7,000 tourists daily saw a dramatic dip to just 50-100 visitors in the days following the tragedy.

However, Sunday's scenes were a little different, painting a picture of hope.

A bunch of foreign and domestic tourists were seen roaming across the town, bringing back a sense of normalcy after the trauma that Pahalgam went through on April 22.

According to news agency ANI, Croatian and Serbian tourists were seen exploring the streets of Pahalgam, completely at ease.

Foreign tourists explore Pahalgam

A group of Serbian and Croatian tourists were seen visiting Pahalgam, and seemed to be in awe of its beauty, ANI reported.

“We are coming from Croatia and we are now three or four days here. We are feeling very safe, and your country is very beautiful. We don't have any problem staying here. Kashmir is beautiful, very beautiful. It's very nice, your country is different. We are very, very satisfied with your nature, and people are very kind. We are happy here. We are all 12 people, including two from Serbia and the others from Croatia,” Ljiljana from Croatia was quoted as saying by ANI.

Vlatko, also from Croatia, said, "It's my 10th time in Kashmir and every time it's fantastic. For me, it's number one in the world, natural, soft people. My group is very happy; it's their first time here, Croatian and Serbian people."

On asked about safety post-attack, he said “I feel totally safe, no problem here. Everywhere, people say hello - zero, zero scared.”

Ivana from Serbia also shared her gratitude to the people of Kashmir. While talking to ANI, she said, "We are now off to see a little bit more of your beautiful valley and your beautiful country and nature. Thank you very much for having us here. We heard about the incident before leaving our countries, but despite everything, we decided to come. This is a journey we have been planning for years. We knew the country was beautiful, and we expected only good things. Thank you, Kashmir."

Indians visit Pahalgam too

While many tourists visited from abroad, there were domestic ones too.

Mohammad Anas from Surat, Gujarat, said he was enjoying his time in Kashmir but expressed sadness at the ‘huge loss’.

We are enjoying our time here in Kashmir. Right now, we are in Pahalgam. We are deeply saddened by the death of our fellow tourist brothers. It's a huge loss for us. However, the markets and everything else are still open here in Pahalgam. There's nothing to be afraid of. The Indian Army is here, the government is with us, and even the local people are supporting us. Since the time I arrived, I haven't felt any fear."

He continued, "When we were on our way and heard about the incident, we were quite scared and thought about going back. But the locals and the army supported us a lot and assured us that there's no problem here. They encouraged us to come and see Pahalgam. What happened was terrible, and whoever did this did something very wrong it should never have happened."

(With inputs from ANI)