At least 26 people were killed and 17 others wounded when gunmen opened fire on tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir, the worst assault in years targeting civilians in a restive region that has seen an anti-India rebellion for more than three decades.

After her husband Manjunath Rao was shot dead, Pallavi and her son told the terrorists to kill them too. “They refused, but told us to convey this to Narendra Modi,” she recalled.

The brutal terror attack in Pahalgam, J&K left the nation in mourning, but amid the tragedy, it was the local ponywallahs who became unexpected heroes