Tourist couple injured, sarpanch killed in back-to-back terror attacks in Kashmir; search operation launched

A tourist couple was injured and a former BJP sarpanch was killed in a terrorist attack in Kashmir on May 18 in two separate terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian and Anantnag districts, respectively. It was the first attack on tourists this year. 

In the first incident, the terrorists opened fire at Aijaz Sheikh, a former BJP sarpanch, in Shopian’s Hirpora area at around 10.30 pm who later succumbed to his injuries at a hospital. 

In another incident, a couple from Jaipur were injured when terrorists opened fire at a tourist camp in UT’s Anantnag district. 

“Terrorists fired upon and injured a lady, Farha, a resident of Jaipur, and her spouse, Tabrez, at Yannar, Anantnag. The injured were evacuated to the hospital for treatment. The area was cordoned off,” Kashmir Zone Police tweeted. 

The areas in Anantnag and Shopian have been cordoned off and search operations have been launched to nab the attackers, officials said. The back-to-back attacks come at a time when campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections is going on in the Anantnag-Rajouri seat. Voting in Baramulla will be held on May 20. 

All political parties in Jammu and Kashmir condemned the attacks. 

“While we condemn the attack in Pahalgam today that resulted in injuries to two tourists followed by another attack on a (former) sarpanch in Hirpora, Shopian - the timing of these attacks given that the south election was delayed without any reason is a cause of concern. Especially keeping in mind normalcy claims touted by GOI (Government of India),” former CM and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, who is contesting the Lok Sabha elections from the Anantnag-Rajouri seat, wrote in a post on X (formally Twitter). 

National Conference president Farooq Abdullah and Vice President Omar Abdullah also condemned the terror attacks. 

“Such acts of brutality remain a serious impediment to achieving long-term peace in J-K. We urge all communities to come together in these challenging times and support efforts towards lasting harmony. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families during this difficult period,” a statement from the party said. 

The BJP condemned the killing of its ex-sarpanch Aijaz Ahmad Sheikh. 

“Aijaz Ahmad was a brave soldier of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Jammu and Kashmir. The BJP firmly stands with the family of Aijaz Ahmad, who lost his life in this terror attack,” it said.