In an emotional and exclusive interview with India Today, a survivor named Rishi Bhatt recounted the horrifying experience of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 innocent tourists lost their lives. Bhatt’s vivid and chilling testimony offers one of the clearest firsthand insights into the brutal sequence of events that unfolded that tragic day.
Rishi Bhatt was on a family trip to Kashmir, planning to enjoy the natural beauty of Pahalgam along with his wife, son, and a few other family members. As part of their excursion, they decided to try ziplining. Bhatt's wife, son, and a few others had already crossed to the other side on the zipline safely. However, when it was Bhatt’s turn to go, something unusual and terrifying occurred.
While he was ziplining, Bhatt heard a zipline operator shout "Allahhu Akbar" loudly — not once, but three times. Moments later, gunfire erupted. Bhatt, who had been filming himself happily moments earlier, captured the eerie background sounds of the gunfire in his video. Initially confused, within 15–20 seconds he realized the magnitude of the threat. "You can even see in my video, a man falling down," he recounted, his voice heavy with emotion. Realizing that something was terribly wrong, Bhatt decided to manually stop himself mid-air on the zipline. He then leapt from a height of about 15 feet, injuring himself slightly but prioritizing survival. He rushed to find his wife and son amidst the chaos.
Bhatt recalled the chaos and panic around him, with terrified tourists running for cover. He said his wife was shouting desperately for him to come down, unaware that the attack had begun. "I was only thinking about saving my life and my family's life," he said, describing the adrenaline and terror that took over. Together with his family, he sprinted toward the nearby forest to seek shelter. They eventually ran from the woods to the parking area and then fled toward Srinagar to find a safer location.
Discussing the aftermath with his wife, Bhatt said two other couples stood just beside her. The terrorists approached them, asking each individual their names and religion. If the person could not recite the Kalma (the Islamic declaration of faith) or did not belong to the Muslim faith, they were shot on the spot. Bhatt acknowledged that his own survival was a matter of sheer fate — had he been standing with his wife instead of ziplining, he too might have been executed.
Describing the brutality he witnessed, Bhatt said, "I saw 16–18 murders in front of me." He also added that after the initial burst of firing, he and others had to hide silently in a grove for around fifteen to twenty agonizing minutes, lying flat on the ground as the gunfire continued around them. Only after the gunfire finally ceased did they dare to move and escape the area.
When asked about the attackers' appearance, Bhatt revealed a disturbing detail: the terrorists were disguised as security guards. While running to save his life, he saw two genuine security guards lying dead, stripped of their uniforms. He surmised that the terrorists must have killed them to steal their clothes, a tactic intended to deceive and trap more victims.
The April 22 Pahalgam terror attack has been described as one of the deadliest assaults in Kashmir in recent years. The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, quickly claimed responsibility for the carnage. The calculated targeting of civilians, particularly tourists, has sent shockwaves throughout India and the international community.
In response to the attack, the Indian government initiated a series of strong diplomatic and strategic measures against Pakistan. These included the historic decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty, a major water-sharing agreement between the two countries. Furthermore, India expelled multiple Pakistani diplomats, shut down the Attari-Wagah border crossing (a crucial trade and transit point), and issued directives ordering all Pakistani nationals to leave Indian territory within a strict deadline. These steps mark one of the strongest diplomatic retaliations taken by India in recent times.
The Pahalgam attack has sparked massive outrage among Indian communities worldwide, leading to widespread protests, candlelight vigils, and social media campaigns demanding justice for the victims. Public sentiment across India remains one of deep anger and sorrow, with calls for even tougher action against terrorism and those supporting it.
Rishi Bhatt’s haunting recollection serves as a painful reminder of the human cost of terrorism and the extraordinary courage it takes to survive such a nightmare.
