A day after the brutal terrorist assault in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, Uttar Pradesh MLA from Kunda, Raghuraj Pratap Singh, also known as Raja Bhaiya, launched a sharp attack on what he called the “religious motivations of terrorism” and warned Indian tourists against “unknowingly funding jihad” by vacationing in Kashmir.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the Kunda legislator said that terrorists in Kashmir had once again proven that “terrorism has a religion,” referring to reports that the assailants checked victims’ sacred threads and undergarments to identify their religion before executing them in Tuesday’s carnage. “By checking for kalawa threads and stripping clothes to verify religion before opening fire, the terrorists have once again proved that terrorism does indeed have a religion,” Raja Bhaiya wrote.
He further warned that by spending on travel, hotels and local purchases in Kashmir, tourists are inadvertently strengthening the same separatist and extremist networks that pose a threat to the country. “We are unknowingly funding the jihad waged against us from our own pockets,” he said.
'Kashmiri Hindus still refugees in own country'
Referring to the mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in the 1990s, the MLA remarked, “Hindus in Kashmir were long ago massacred or driven out. Those who escaped are still refugees in their own country.” The MLA added that by taking family selfies on houseboats in Dal Lake, tourists end up projecting a false image of normalcy in Kashmir. “We give the world the impression that peace prevails in the Valley, when the reality is quite the opposite—as proven once again by this attack.”
He also alleged that a large section of the local population in Kashmir continues to hold separatist views, either overtly or covertly. “Almost everyone there supports terrorism in some form, and the region’s political parties are no exception,” he said.
On Tuesday, terrorists opened fire on a group of tourists near the meadows of Baisaran Valley in Pahalgam, killing 26 people, including two foreigners and two locals. Eyewitness accounts and reports suggest that the assailants singled out victims based on their names, religious symbols, and clothing before shooting them at point-blank range.
This has been described as the deadliest civilian-targeted terror strike in Jammu and Kashmir since the 2019 Pulwama attack. The killings have triggered nationwide outrage, heightened security alerts across major cities, and raised questions over both security lapses and ideological motivations behind the attack.