Cowardly strike on innocent citizens will evoke strong response: Govt on Pahalgam terror attack

New Delhi | After political parties called for hunting down the terrorists responsible for the Pahalgam attack on tourists, the Centre asserted on Wednesday that the "cowardly" strike on innocent citizens will soon evoke a "strong response".

Home Minister Amit Shah, who visited the attack site in Baisaran, near Pahalgam town in south Kashmir's Anantnag district, asserted that the country will not bend down before terror and those responsible for the heinous act will not be spared.

Shah reached Baisaran in a helicopter and was briefed by security officials on the sequence of events and the possible routes the terrorists took to reach the popular tourist spot, which is surrounded by thick pine forests. Shah later met the injured in the Anantnag hospital and also called on the families of those killed in the attack.

After laying wreaths on the bodies of the victims, Shah said on X: "Bharat will not bend to terror. The culprits of this dastardly terror attack will not be spared."

As outrage and widespread condemnation poured in a day after the terrorists killed at least 26 people, mostly tourists, the country saw protests at several places, including in Jammu and Kashmir where a bandh was observed.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) and took stock of the situation. Shah briefed the meeting after his visit to Jammu and Kashmir. The meeting was also attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, besides National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and other officials.

The Congress and other political parties extended their support to the Centre in tackling terror and demanded an all-party meeting to address the challenge of terrorism.

However, some bickering also came out after Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav blamed the BJP-led Centre for security lapses and accused the saffron party of "politicising" the attack and "lacking genuine empathy" for the victims and their families.

Yadav referred to an advertisement and social media posts shared by BJP handles claiming that the attackers in Pahalgam asked the victims about their religion before opening fire.

"By publishing a childish advertisement on the extremely painful tragedy of Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP has proved that BJP leaders have zero sympathy for those who have lost their lives and whose families are in deep sorrow. Even if BJP removes this advertisement, its staunch supporters will not forgive this sin," he said in a post on X.

Blaming the Centre for alleged security lapses, Yadav said, "When the BJP government in Jammu and Kashmir has done everything according to its own will, then it cannot shirk its responsibility for the untimely deaths of so many people. It is the failure of the central government that it could not anticipate such a gruesome incident."

He also questioned the alleged "lack of adequate security measures" at Pahalgam, a well-known tourist destination. "If the BJP and their allies are encouraging tourists to visit Jammu and Kashmir, then why were adequate security arrangements not made beforehand?" he asked.

In Bengaluru, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge termed the Pahalgam terror attack a direct assault on the Indian State and said the entire country stands by the Centre in its fight against terror.

He urged the government to use all its strength to hunt down the terrorists and also suggested that an all-party meeting be called to address the challenge of terrorism in a spirit of consensus.

Referring to his telephonic conversation with the home minister, Kharge said, "Shah told me that they are going to take action drastically in that area." The Congress Working Committee (CWC) will meet at 11 am on Thursday at the AICC office in New Delhi to discuss the terror attack, he added.

"We must give a fitting response and in this matter, we are all one and we will fight. But there should not be claims and finger-pointing.

"We urge the government to use all its strength to hunt down the terrorists, it has been almost 22 hours now. The government must do everything possible to maintain tourists' confidence in the security arrangement of Jammu and Kashmir," Kharge said.

Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law and businessman Robert Vadra triggered a row by suggesting that non-Muslims were attacked in Pahalgam as terrorists feel that Muslims are being "mistreated" in the country, prompting the BJP to accuse him of using the language of terrorists and demand his apology.

"When this terrorist act took place, they (terrorists) were looking at IDs. People who were non-Muslims were attacked and messages were given to the prime minister. Why is this happening? Because they are feeling that Muslims are being mistreated in our country," Vadra said, adding that minorities are being sidelined. He also called upon political parties to introspect.

Delivering the annual Arjan Singh Memorial Lecture, Rajnath Singh said a befitting reply will be given, adding that India will not only hunt down the perpetrators of the attack but also trace those "sitting behind the scenes", who conspired to carry out the heinous act on Indian soil.

The defence minister reviewed the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir at a meeting with Doval, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi, Navy chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, Air Chief Marshal A P Singh and Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh. The meeting lasted for nearly two hours and a half.

"From this platform, I assure the countrymen that in view of the incident, the government of India will take every step that is necessary and appropriate.

"And we will not only trace those who perpetrated this incident, we will also reach out to those who, sitting behind the scenes, have conspired to carry out the nefarious act on the soil of India," Singh said.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said the TDP-led government in the southern state stands in solidarity with Prime Minister Modi and the Union government following the Pahalgam attack.

"The Government of Andhra Pradesh stands in solidarity with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union government in their commitment to safeguarding our nation's sovereignty and responding to terrorism with firm and decisive action," Naidu said in a post on X.

Asserting that Pakistan was behind the Pahalgam terror attack, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal urged the Centre to declare the neighbouring country a "terrorist organisation" and file prosecution against it in the International Criminal Court to give a message to the world that this is unacceptable.

"I would urge our home minister to include Pakistan as a terrorist organisation under the terror act," he said.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) also condemned the Pahalgam attack and demanded that the government probe all aspects of it, including lack of security.

All-party meeting on terror attack on Thursday

New Delhi | The government will be calling an all-party meeting on Thursday in the wake of the terror attack in Pahalgam, official sources said.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is likely to chair it, they said.

Home Minister Amit Shah and Singh are speaking to leaders of various parties on the issue, the sources said.

Several opposition parties, including the Congress, had demanded that the government should convene a meeting of all parties over the issue.

Singh is expected to brief leaders of different parties on the brutal terror attack targeting tourists that left at least 26 persons dead.

On Wednesday evening, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security in the wake of the biggest terror attack targeting civilians in a long spell of time.