India concludes Hindu pilgrimage in IIOJK amid regional tensions

SRINAGAR: India officially concluded the Amarnath Yatra in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), with over 400,000 Hindus participating in the month-long pilgrimage, authorities said, amid heightened security and recent military escalation with Pakistan.

The pilgrimage began on July 3 and closed officially on August 9, but organisers said that lashing rains had damaged narrow paths, forcing a premature end.

Official Vijay Kumar Bidhuri said in a statement late Saturday that 415,000 pilgrims had taken part.

Many of the faithful began their trek to the Amarnath ice pillar from near Pahalgam, where gunmen on April 22 killed 26 tourists in the disputed region.

New Delhi said the gunmen were backed by Pakistan — claims Islamabad has vehemently rejected while calling for a probe into the unfortunate incident — triggering a series of tit-for-tat diplomatic measures that escalated into a four-day conflict.

It was the worst standoff by the nuclear-armed nations since 1999, with more than 70 people killed in missile, drone and artillery fire on both sides, before a May 10 ceasefire.

A few devotees may still visit the cave, but the numbers this year fall short of the estimated half a million devotees who took part in 2024.

Officials appealed to Hindus to undertake the pilgrimage, ramping up security for the event by deploying 45,000 troops with high-tech surveillance tools overseeing the gruelling trek to the cave, dedicated to Shiva, the deity of destruction.

On Sunday, Indian forces exchanged fire with gunmen for a third day in Kulgam, far from the Amarnath pilgrimage route. Soldiers have killed two people, a senior police officer said.