Conflicting accounts have emerged following the April 22 terrorist attack at Baisaran meadow, which claimed 26 lives. At an all-party meeting, the Ministry of Home Affairs stated that local police had not been notified before the area was opened to tourists.

However, fresh reports from Jammu and Kashmir officials have raised questions over that version of events, suggesting that police approval has never been a prerequisite for access to the site.

According to a senior J&K government official cited by The Hindu, police authorisation has historically never been required for opening the Baisaran meadow, a popular tourist destination that remains accessible throughout the year except during heavy snowfall.

"The Baisaran meadow has remained open for tourists for years," the official reportedly said, adding that the J&K Police have not formally communicated any concerns about permits to the Union Territory administration.

A poster at the entrance to the site describes it as a "Picnic Spot" managed by the Pahalgam Development Authority, with an entry fee of Rs 35 per person, The Hindu noted.

These new accounts appear to contradict what opposition leaders were told during the all-party meeting on April 24.

Reports suggest that political leaders were informed that Baisaran valley typically opens to tourists around June, and that local authorities must be notified when tourists are taken there — a protocol allegedly not followed, with groups being sent to the area from April 20 without informing officials.

The discrepancies have intensified scrutiny over the information shared with Members of Parliament and raised fresh questions about administrative accountability in the wake of the deadly attack.

Since Jammu and Kashmir was downgraded to a Union Territory on August 5, 2019, following the reading down of Article 370, security has remained under the Union government’s purview, although tourism continues to be administered locally.

Earlier this month, controversy also erupted after reports that former chief minister Omar Abdullah was excluded from a high-level security meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Abdullah, who is the vice-president of the National Conference, was not invited to the all-party meeting either.

Opposition leaders and survivors have consistently demanded accountability for the security lapses that led to the massacre.

Shital Kalathiya, the wife of Shailesh Kalathiya — a banker from Gujarat’s Surat who was among the victims — criticised the government on April 24 for the lack of basic security arrangements at the tourist spot.

Speaking at her husband's funeral, Kalathiya said, “I want justice for all the innocent people who were killed there. There was no facility..no security of the army or police. In a VIP convoy you have so much security cover and even helicopters fly over your head. Where do you get that money?” reported Deccan Herald.

In a video that has since circulated widely, she questioned the government's priorities, lamenting that taxpayers’ lives appeared to hold less value than that of VIPs. Calls for justice and accountability continue to grow louder as the fallout from the Pahalgam attack deepens.