Pahalgam Attack and US Leaders’ Visits: The militant attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22, 2025, has once again thrust the Kashmir issue into international headlines. The attack coincided with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and US Vice President JD Vance’s visit to India. Reports confirmed 26 deaths, mostly tourists, in the attack.
On Tuesday evening, as news of the attack broke, PM Modi condemned it on the social media platform X, vowing justice for those responsible. By 11 PM, it was reported that Modi was cutting short his Saudi Arabia visit to return to India. Opting to skip an official dinner, he arrived in Delhi by Wednesday morning.
India’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Suheil Ejaz Khan, stated that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman condemned the attack and offered all possible assistance to India. In a joint statement, India and Saudi Arabia denounced the attack as a horrific act of terrorism, rejecting any attempt to link terrorism to religion or culture. Despite the shortened visit, four key agreements were signed in the fields of space, health, and the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor.
This is not the first time a militant attack in Kashmir has coincided with a US leader’s visit to India. On March 20, 2000, a day before then-US President Bill Clinton’s visit, 36 Sikh villagers were killed in Anantnag’s Chittisinghpura. The attackers were reportedly from Pakistan. Then-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee directly blamed Pakistan for the attack.
Two years later, on May 14, 2002, during US Assistant Secretary of State Christina Rocca’s visit, militants attacked a bus carrying passengers and then targeted army family quarters in Kaluchak, killing 23 people, including 10 children.
Experts believe the timing of these attacks is deliberate. A report in The Economist cited former Indian Army officers stating that the attackers aim to draw international attention to the Kashmir issue and weaken its tourism industry. Stanley Johny, international editor of The Hindu, noted on X that the attack followed inflammatory remarks by Pakistan’s army chief on Kashmir. He suggested the militants sought to keep Kashmir in the global spotlight while targeting the local economy through attacks on tourists
