Are 15 out of 26 Pahalgam terrorist attack victims Muslims? Fact Check

The Pahalgam attack has created ripples across India with 26 people dead at the hands of terrorists, after asking their name and religion to confirm that they were Hindus. However, a week later, a social media claim appeared stating that at least 15 out of the 26 victims were Muslims. See the claim:

Pakistani journalist Sadia Abbasi made the claim citing India TV.

Terrorists don’t belong to any religion. This is The Complete list of Persons who lost their lives in Pahalgam Terror Attack,which has been on India TV News.Out of 26 dead 15 are Muslim Names,this exposes Godi Media who are shouting https://t.co/APC2OEd1eP pic.twitter.com/sakfc3iB68

— Be on TRUTH even if you need to stand alone.. (@buster_hate) April 24, 2025

The claim reads: “Terrorists don’t belong to any religion. This is The Complete list of Persons who lost their lives in Pahalgam Terror Attack,which has been on India TV News.Out of 26 dead 15 are Muslim Names,this exposes Godi Media who are shouting”. The same claim has been shared on Facebook in Hindi here:

FACT-CHECK

When Digiteye India checked for the original list of victims, only one name was found as a Muslim. The Indian Express, among all other national dailies, has given the list as below:

LIST

Moreover, the list has been manipulated replacing several names and ironic, even the only Muslim name Syed Adil Hussain Shah is not there in the list. The main name of the slain Indian Navy officer, Vinay Narwal is missing and in fact, the moving image of Narwal’s wife, Himanshi, sitting next to the lifeless body of her husband on the Baisaran meadows, hit all news media in India and abroad. It also misses the name of Manjunath Rao from Karnataka.

And the India TV’s website did not put out any list as claimed by Pakistani journalist Sadia Abbasi. In all the lists covered by news outlets, there is only one Muslim name of Syed Adil Hussain Shah. He was praised for showing bravery when he tried to snatch weapons from the terrorists to stop them, and in return, he was killed by the terrorists. Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah later attended his last rites too. Hence, the claim is false.

Claim: At least 15 out of the 26 Pahalgam terrorist attack victims were Muslims.
Conclusion: False. Only one victim out of 26 killed by terrorists at Pahalgam was a Muslim.

Rating: Totally False —