Jammu (Jammu & Kashmir) [India], April 23 (ANI): BJP leader Ravinder Raina on Wednesday called the Pahalgam terror attack a 'murder of humanity'.

Speaking to ANI, BJP leader Ravinder Raina said, '... The Pahalgam terrorist attack is a murder of humanity. Kashmir has been bled, and Pakistan and these terrorists will have to pay a heavy price for this crime... The blood of innocents that has been shed in Pahalgam in Kashmir will be avenged ...'

Ravinder Raina said that those responsible would pay a 'heavy price' for the crime.

Former Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Kavinder Gupta expressed remorse over the killing of tourists in the Pahalgam terrorist attack, and held Pakistan responsible for one of the deadliest terror attacks in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370.

'This is a very sad incident. Over the last three months, more than 500,000 tourists have visited Kashmir. If we look at all these issues, the situation in Kashmir was very well managed, but this cowardly act by Pakistan is intolerable,' Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Gupta told ANI.

The incident occurred at around 3 pm on Tuesday when terrorists came down from the mountain in Baisaran valley and started firing at the tourists who frequent the place, which is often dubbed 'mini Switzerland' because of its long, lush green meadows.

The Jammu and Kashmir (J-K) Government has announced ex-gratia worth Rs 10 lakh each for the families of deceased victims and Rs 2 lakh for those who sustained serious injuries.

Earlier today, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) team visited the Pahalgam terror attack site on Wednesday to support the Jammu and Kashmir (J-K) Police in probing what is considered the deadliest assault on civilians in the region in almost twenty years.

The NIA team - led by a Deputy Inspector General-rank officer - visited Baisaran a day after terrorists gunned down a group of tourists in the picturesque meadow, which is located around five kilometres from Pahalgam town in Kashmir's Anantnag district.

Official sources privy to the development told ANI that 'the NIA team members will be assisting the Jammu and Kashmir Police in the investigation.'NIA's visit to the terror attack site as an expert is significant in the investigation, as 26 tourists have lost their lives and over three dozen were injured at Baisaran meadow, near the popular tourist town of Pahalgam. (ANI)