“Tourists Are Our Lifeline”: Kashmir Taxi Drivers Mourn Pahalgam Victims, Appeal for Support and Peace Shattered by the brutal killing of 26 Hindu tourists in Pahalgam, taxi drivers across Kashmir took to the streets in protest and grief, calling the victims “our own guests” and pleading for justice and revival of tourism. “Tourists are our lifeline,” they shouted, highlighting how their entire livelihoods—from loans on new vehicles to their children’s school fees—now hang in the balance. With tears and folded hands, they appealed to the nation: “Trust us, visit us—Kashmiris are with you.” Tourists are our life, shouted Kashmiris taking out processions in protest against the brutal killings of 26 innocent Hindus in Pahalgam by terrorists. Our entire families are dependent on tourism and we have nothing now. People who come from outside take taxis with Tourist Taxi Stand. if no one comes from outside then what will happen to us? We were doing fine for the last 3-4 years. A lot of tourists were coming to Kashmir. The Government also helped us a lot. It is our misfortune that this year we bought more new cars as we saw greater demand with the tourists influx. We got them on loans from banks. It is our misfortune that the Pahalgam incident happened. We all condemn this incident. The whole of Kashmir was crying. We took out procession that we too want that killers be punished. Those who died were our guests. Tourists come here trusting us. We are worried. We have loans on our vehicles. I have got a message from the school of my child to pay the fees. When I have not earned anything, how will I pay, said a taxi driver? They were all our brothers who died, the terrorists did not attack them, they attacked our house. For the new cars, every month 25000-30000 has to go as installments. Then there are children to take care of. We used to take tourists to Katra, Leh, Kargil, Udhampur. We thought that if things go well for two to four years, we will repay the loan as well. We are appealing to the government, we should get relief. We are also telling the people outside that we are all welcoming you here, please come, implored taxi drivers in Kashmir.