New Delhi: Days after officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) told an all-party meeting that police permission was not sought for opening the Baisaran meadow where on April 22, 26 people were killed in a terrorist attack, The Hindu has cited a senior J&K government official and reported that “police authorisation has never been sought for the tourist spot, which is open throughout the year barring snowy months.”

The official is cited as saying that the J&K Police were yet to formally communicate with the Union Territory (UT) over the issue of the permit. “The Baisaran meadow has remained open for tourists for years,” the official is reported to have said. A poster at the gate of the “Picnic Spot”, writes the newspaper, says that it is operated by the Pahalgam Development Authority in Anantnag district, and the cost of an entry ticket is Rs 35 per person.

The concern about security lapses and an intelligence failure was raised by the opposition members, The Wire had reported on April 24, the day the all-party meeting was held.

Sources told The Wire that during the meeting, party leaders were informed that the area where the incident took place – in Pahalgam’s Baisaran valley – is usually opened to tourists around June and local authorities are required to be informed when tourists are taken there – which was not done, and small batches of tourists were sent to the area from April 20 without informing local authorities.

Fresh accounts from J&K officials raise questions about the information given to all-party MPs.

The state of Jammu and Kashmir was stripped down to a Union Territory on August 5, 2019 and split into two, with Article 370 read down. The security of the region once this was done is with the Union government, though tourism falls under the remit of the UT’s administration. 

Earlier this month, there were reports about the chief minister Omar Abdullah being kept out of a high-level security review meeting by home minister Amit Shah. Abdullah is also the vice-president of the ruling National Conference which was not invited to the all-party meeting convened by the union government in New Delhi.

Security lapse questioned

Serious security lapses have been questioned and demands for fixing accountability have been made consistently by opposition parties and anguished survivors in the past few days. 

Shital Kalathiya, the wife of Shailesh Kalathiya – a banker from Gujarat’s Surat who was killed in the Pahalgam attack – slammed the government on Thursday (April 24) for not providing any security measures at the tourist spot.

“I want justice for all the innocent people who were killed there. There was no facility..no security of the army or police. In a VIP convoy you have so much security cover and even helicopters fly over your head. Where do you get that money?” said Kalathiya on Thursday, reported Deccan Herald.

Speaking from the funeral site of her husband, Kalathiya demanded justice. In a video, she is heard  asking how VIPs get security cover but there is no value of life of the taxpayers.

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