It’s the beginning, want end of terror: Pahalgam victims’ kin

Kolkata: Families of Pahalgam victims hailed the security forces after three terrorists involved in the April 22 terror attack were gunned down in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday. ‘But this was just the beginning' as they believe only ‘complete eradication' of cross-border terrorism will deliver justice in its true sense. Morever, for most, the ‘loss is irreplaceable.' Security forces claimed that Suleiman Shah, a Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist—believed to be the mastermind—was also among the militants killed in the operation, codenamed Operation Mahadev.Sabari Guha, whose husband, Samir Guha—a former central govt statistics officer—was killed by the terrorists at Baisaran Valley barely 15 minutes after arriving there, said she was indebted to the Indian Armed Forces, the J&K Police, and the CRPF. "Operation Sindoor was a large-scale retaliation against the attack by the Indian govt. It was a success, and I hailed the forces back then too. But this news has been a bigger relief. All the 26 families who lost their dear ones will feel some solace, a little amount of closure, a little lessening of the pain we suffered. I wish to congratulate all the forces for their intelligence connection and valour. There could not have been a fitter reply," said Guha, congratulating the forces.Guha said she was hopeful others involved in the incident would be nabbed soon. "The work to eradicate all terrorists involved in the attack from across the border must go on. Only when the terrorists are completely eliminated, complete justice will be served. We were mere tourists who were targeted for the first time. I do not want even the local Kashmiris or our armed forces to be targeted at any point in time. My country should and will remain safe for all," she said.Still coming to terms with the loss, Soheni Adhikary—widow of Florida-based software engineer Bitan— said she wanted to erase the haunting memories of the fateful day. Bitan had returned to India for a vacation to Srinagar with Soheni and their three-and-a-half-year-old son, Hridaan. "I am no longer in the right frame of mind to comment on these developments. No news excites me anymore. No news can lessen the pain of losing Bitan," Soheni said over the phone. She broke down during the conversation.