Pahalgam aftermath: Widow slams politicians, questions security lapses after terror attack
Shital Kalathiya, widowed after her husband was one among the 26 men brutally gunned down in the terrifying Pahalgam attack on Tuesday, criticised the security arrangements at Jammu and Kashmir, demanding justice from politicians and the government for families of terror victims.
Her ire was particularly directed at C.R. Patil, Union Minister of Jal Shakti, Surat MP Mukesh Dalal, Gujarat's Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghvi, and Gujarat's Education Minister Praful Pansheriya, who had shown up to the funeral proceedings in Surat, in addition to a large crowd of relatives, well-wishers, and politicians as per a Times of India report.
Her husband Shailesh Kalathiya, aged 44, had been an employee at a State Bank of India branch in Mumbai, who had applied for a week's leave to take his family to Pahalgam for a vacation.
"All politicians, officials, and security came only after the incident for a photo op, but were not there when my husband needed it most. The terrorist who shot my husband was laughing at that time. He stayed there till my husband died. They separated the tourists based on religion before opening fire. What kind of government is this that could not save its citizens? I want the government to secure the futures of all families that have lost a member,” she urged.
She also alleged that the blame was put on her family for travelling to Pahalgam when she had asked an army official for help, leading her to lose faith in them.
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Shital pointed out how they did not even receive the basic security they were entitled to, as tax-paying citizens.
“The government cuts the tax before we get our salary. We pay taxes at the time of shopping and also pay toll tax. VIPs get all facilities, including helicopters. But when my husband needed security, he failed to get it.”
According to her 10-year-old son, the terrorists, who wore caps fitted with cameras on top, opened fire in the vicinity, creating chaos as people ran helter-skelter, at which time his parents had sent him and his sibling away for safety, the report said.
"As we were hungry, we went to have food. Suddenly, the noise of firing bullets started as everyone started running here and there to save their lives. My mother stayed with my father and asked us to go down. The terrorists separated the males based on religion and killed them.”
After Pakistan-origin proxy group The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of the deadly Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility for the attack, tensions flared between the two nations, with both sides engaging in tit-for-tat diplomatic moves.
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