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Informist, Thursday, Apr. 24, 2025

 

NEW DELHI – The opposition parties on Thursday said terror attack on tourists in Pahalgam was a case of security lapse and demanded from the government at the all party meeting to order a probe to fix the accountability. The meeting convened by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at the Parliament Annexe building in New Delhi was attended by Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Ministers Kiren Rijiju and J.P. Nadda, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and floor leaders of other parties in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

 

 

Following the meeting, Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh informed the media that it was told in the meeting that Baisaran meadow near Pahalgam, where the attack took place on Tuesday, was opened for tourists on Sunday--two days before the attack--without the prior knowledge of security agencies. "It was told that earlier tourists used to visit the place only during the Amarnath pilgrimage, which will start in July. This is a major security lapse. We demanded an enquiry into this to fix accountability," Singh said. 

 

Union Minister Rijiju said that the officials of the Intelligence Bureau and the Union home ministry briefed on how the incident happened and where the lapses happened. He also said that the leaders of all parties have said in one voice that whatever step the government takes, they will support it.

 

 

Singh also said the opposition and some of the allies of the Bharatiya Janata Party also flagged the divisive posts on social media following the Pahalgam terror attack. The members demanded action from the government to stop people from peddling communal narratives on social media.

All the opposition parties condemned the terrorist attack and extended full support to the government to take action against terrorism, Rahul Gandhi said. Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay and AAP's Singh said that security lapses were discussed during the meeting. Singh further said that some members also flagged the absence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the meeting and stated that the prime minister should have attended the meeting.

 

At least 26 people lost their lives on Tuesday in the deadliest terror attack on tourists at Baisaran near Pahalgam in South Kashmir. Resistance Front, a designated proxy of Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, had claimed responsibility for the attack on tourists. Following the attack, the government took several actions against Pakistan, including suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty and expelling the defence advisors at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.

 

Meanwhile, Pakistan on Thursday rejected India's announcement on the Indus Waters Treaty and said that any attempt to stop or divert the flow of water will be considered an act of war and will respond with full force. Pakistan, too, expelled defence advisors at the Indian High Commission in Pakistan and also cancelled the visas issued to Indian citizens.

 

Earlier in the day, the Ministry of External Affairs briefed the envoys of the US, Russia, China, the UK and other countries on the Pahalgam terror attack. The Ministry of External Affairs also informed that the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and French President Emmanuel Macron called Prime Minister Modi to express full support in the fight against terrorism. End

 

Reported by Kuldeep Singh

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

 

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