New Delhi: At an all-party meeting held in Delhi on Thursday, leaders across party lines assured full support to the government for any strong action it decides to take against terrorism and those behind the attack in Pahalgam, that killed 26 people.
The meeting was attended by senior leaders including Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, BJP president JP Nadda, and many others from different parties. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh chaired the meeting, and important ministers like External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and Home Minister Amit Shah were also present.
At the start of the meeting, a moment of silence was observed to pay tribute to the victims of the Pahalgam attack.
Full support for government actions
Speaking after the meeting, Rahul Gandhi said, “All political parties have uniformly condemned the attack and have given full support to the government to take any action.” Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge added, “We want peace to be restored in Jammu and Kashmir as soon as possible.”
Rahul Gandhi also raised the issue of a security lapse, questioning why there were no security personnel at the tourist spot where the attack happened. Kharge and some other leaders, including AAP’s Sanjay Singh, pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should have attended the meeting himself.
However, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said all parties agreed that India must fight terror together and stand united in this time of crisis. Leaders like TMC’s Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Sanjay Singh demanded strong government action to destroy terror camps.
Intelligence briefing and discussions
During the meeting, Intelligence Bureau Director Tapan Deka gave a detailed briefing for about 20 minutes on how the attack happened and answered questions from the leaders. Home Minister Amit Shah and External Affairs Minister Jaishankar also responded to queries.
The government explained that the attack was an attempt to disturb peace at a time when Jammu and Kashmir was seeing growth in tourism and the economy.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi, speaking in Madhubani, Bihar, assured the nation that the government will “identify, track, and punish” every terrorist and their supporters. He said India’s spirit will never be broken by acts of terror and justice will be ensured.
Steps already taken
A day before the all-party meeting, India had already taken major diplomatic steps in response to the Pahalgam attack:
- The Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan has been suspended.
- Diplomatic ties with Pakistan have been downgraded.
- Pakistani military attaches have been expelled.
- The Attari land border crossing has been shut down.
These decisions were taken at the Cabinet Committee on Security meeting chaired by Prime Minister Modi soon after the attack.
