The horrific Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives and left several others injured, has cast a pall over the forthcoming South Asian Senior Athletics Championships, leading to delays in visa approvals for Pakistani athletes.

Terrorists opened fire at a popular tourist site in a scenic meadow in South Kashmir, roughly 30 miles southeast of Srinagar, on Tuesday. The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy group of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), claimed responsibility for the attack. The assault is being described as one of the deadliest in the region in recent years.