The April 22 massacre in Pahalgam, which killed 26 tourists, has triggered sweeping changes in Anantnag’s police leadership, amid reports of lapses by both local police and CRPF personnel.
BY PC Bureau
May 5, 2025: In the wake of last month’s horrific terror attack in Pahalgam that left 26 people dead—most of them tourists—the Jammu and Kashmir Police have initiated a significant reshuffle of personnel in the Anantnag district. Among the key changes is the transfer of Pahalgam’s Station House Officer (SHO), Reyaz Ahmad.
According to an official order issued by Anantnag’s Senior Superintendent of Police, IPS Amritpal Singh, six police officials have been transferred in an effort to bolster security preparedness and accountability in the region. The reshuffle takes immediate effect.
Reyaz Ahmad, who served as the SHO of Pahalgam Police Station, has been moved to the District Police Lines in Anantnag. He will be replaced by Peer Gulzar Ahmad, who now assumes charge of the Pahalgam station. The changes are part of a wider restructuring within the district, which includes five sub-divisional police headquarters and 11 police stations—among them Srigufwara, Ashmuqam, and Bijbehara.
पहलगाम आतंकी हमले के बाद अधिकारियों का तबादला
Pahalgam terror attack fallout: officials transferred#PahalgamTerroristAttack #pahalgamkashmir pic.twitter.com/QPAncmv8IY
— Veer Arjun (@VeerArjunDainik) May 5, 2025
The police action comes after the April 22 terror attack at the scenic Baisaran meadow in Pahalgam, where heavily armed terrorists opened fire on a group of tourists, killing at least 26 people in the deadliest strike in Kashmir since the revocation of Article 370 in 2019.
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Reports said that strict disciplinary measures have also been taken against Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel tasked with securing the area during the attack. Initial reports indicated a glaring lapse in the deployment and vigilance of forces in the tourist-heavy zone.
Responsibility for the attack was claimed by The Resistance Front (TRF), a shadow outfit of the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). The brazen assault has sparked nationwide outrage and reignited demands for tougher action against Pakistan and enhanced security measures in Kashmir’s vulnerable tourist corridors.
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The Indian government has since scaled back diplomatic ties with Pakistan even further, citing the attack as a deliberate provocation and a threat to civilian lives. Political leaders and citizens alike have questioned how militants were able to breach one of the region’s busiest tourist areas without being intercepted.
Security agencies are now under immense pressure to ensure that the Valley, particularly high-traffic destinations like Pahalgam, are no longer soft targets. The latest reshuffle is seen as the beginning of a broader overhaul in counter-terror strategy and local policing accountability.
