On 22 April 2025, a terrorist attack targeting tourists occurred in the Baisaran valley of Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir. The Resistance Front (TRF), a designated terrorist organisation, claimed responsibility for the assault. According to multiple media reports (here & here), the attackers indiscriminately opened fire on male non-Muslim tourists after reportedly questioning them about their religion. So far, 26 people have lost their lives in the incident, with several others injured (here & here). In the aftermath, a post (here, here & here) circulating on social media claims that 15 out of the 26 deceased were Muslims, citing a list allegedly published by India TV. Let’s examine the authenticity of this claim.
Claim: 15 of the 26 people killed in the Pahalgam terror attack on 22 April 2025 were Muslims.
Fact: The list mentioned in the viral post is fake. According to reports, 26 people have been killed in the incident so far — of which 25 were non-Muslims and one was a Muslim, identified as Syed Adil Hussain Shah, a native of the Pahalgam area. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
First, we searched the internet using relevant keywords to gather information about the deceased and injured in the incident. We found multiple media reports (here, here & here) that provided these details. According to the reports, government sources released an official list of the deceased and injured, confirming that 26 people have lost their lives in the Pahalgam terror attack so far. As per the list, 25 of the victims were non-Muslims, while one was a local Muslim resident, Syed Adil Hussain Shah. Adil Hussain was reportedly killed while attempting to stop a terrorist.
Moreover, the viral post claims that India TV News published the list. However, upon reviewing the list of victims of the Pahalgam terror attack on India TV’s official website and YouTube channel, we found that India TV had published the same list as reported by other mainstream media outlets. Additionally, the names mentioned in the viral list do not match the names in the official list released by government sources, further confirming that the viral list is fake.
We also reached out to the local police for official information regarding the list of deceased and injured. This article will be updated as soon as we receive a response.
To sum up, the claim that 15 out of the 26 victims of the Pahalgam terror attack were Muslims is false and not supported by official records.
