Image Source: Agencies

Following a horrific terror assault on tourists in Pahalgam, Union Home Minister Amit Shah departed for Srinagar on Tuesday to assess the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, according to government sources.
According to them, Shah left for J-K shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with him and invited him to come to the Union Territory.
The home minister left on a chartered airplane from IGI airport here, accompanied by Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Director of Intelligence Bureau Tapan Deka, Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha, and a few other high-ranking officials.
In a post on 'X, the home minister claimed to have met with the relevant officials via video conference and updated the prime minister on the situation.
"The terror attack on tourists in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, has enraged me. My sympathies are with the deceased's family. We will impose the worst penalties on anyone responsible for this heinous act of terror, and those involved will not escape punishment," Shah declared.
Shah will convene an urgent security assessment conference with all agencies in Srinagar.
Terrorists broke the quiet of a typical Tuesday afternoon with dozens of people enjoying their day out when they opened fire in a scenic meadow outside Kashmir's Pahalgam town, reportedly killing many tourists and injuring at least 20 more.
The death toll could be more than 20, a high-ranking official indicated without getting into details. The attack, which comes as US Vice President JD Vance is visiting India, took place around 3 pm, the officials said. The toll is still being ascertained, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said while describing the terror attack as “much larger than anything we’ve seen directed at civilians in recent years”. More than 30 persons were killed and 60 others injured in a terror attack on Amarnath base camp in Pahalgam in 2000. A year later, 13 persons were killed and 15 others injured in an attack on Amarnath pilgrims at Sheshnag while 11 persons were killed in another attack in 2002 in the Pahalgam area.