All-party meet on Pahalgam: Leaders demand action to destroy terror camps

Leaders across party lines on Thursday sought decisive action for destroying terror camps while Opposition MPs raised the issue of security lapses but assured that they were with the government in dealing with the issue of terrorism during an all-party meeting on the Pahalgam terror attack.

Coming out of the meeting, Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said that all parties demanded action by the government for the destruction of terror camps.

Trinamool Congress MP Sudip Bandhyopadhyay said the issue of possible security lapses was also discussed but the opposition assured that it was with the government in the fight against terrorism. "The nation must be totally united in this fight to eliminate terrorism," he said.

The government briefed leaders of various political parties on the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives, mostly tourists, and heard their views at the all-party meeting here.

At the beginning of the meeting, a moment of silence was observed for the victims of the attack.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, home minister Amit Shah, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju were present from the government's side.

Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha J.P. Nadda, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi were present at the meeting chaired by Singh.

Those who attended the meeting included NCP-SP's Supriya Sule, NCP's Praful Patel, AIMIM's Asaduddin Owaisi, BJD's Sasmit Patra, TDP's Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, Shiv Sena's Shrikant Shinde, AAP's Sanjay Singh, TMC's Sudip Bandopadhyay, RJD's Premchand Gupta, DMK's T. Siva and SP's Ram Gopal Yadav.

The all-party meeting comes a day after the government announced a host of measures targeting Pakistan in the aftermath of Tuesday's Pahalgam terror attack.

Earlier on Thursday, Congress sources said Rahul Gandhi will travel to Jammu and Kashmir tomorrow, 25 April and meet those injured in the terror attack. The sources said Gandhi will visit the Government Medical College (GMC) in Anantnag to enquire about the health of the injured.

Gandhi cut short his visit to the United States to attend the crucial meeting of the Congress Working Committee held earlier on Thursday.

The decision to call the all-party meeting was taken on Wednesday, with Singh and Shah reaching out to various parties.

It has been a convention to call an all-party meeting following an incident with serious repercussions related to national security, as was seen after the Pulwama terror attack in 2019 or during the India-China standoff in 2020.

It helps present a picture of national unity in moments of crisis and allows Opposition leaders to convey their views to the government and be briefed in detail on the official position.

Targeting Pakistan following the Pahalgam attack, India on Wednesday downgraded diplomatic ties with it and announced a raft of measures, including expulsion of Pakistani military attaches, suspension of the Indus Water Treaty of 1960 and immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit post.

The decisions were taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was not present at the all-party meet.

Meanwhile, an all-party meeting convened by Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday condemned the Pahalgam attack and extended its "unwavering" support to the Centre to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The three-hour meeting held in Srinagar ended with a unanimous resolution expressing deep shock and anguish over the barbaric attack in Pahalgam on innocent civilians, and unequivocally condemning the "heinous and inhumane" attack.

Reading out the resolution at the end of the meeting, Abdullah urged the participants of the meeting to adopt it in a spirit of collective solidarity.

"Such cowardly acts of brutality against peaceful citizens have no place in society and are a direct assault on the values of Kashmiriyat, and the idea of India which have long been a symbol of unity, peace, and harmony in the region," he said.

The chief minister said all parties of J-K stand "unwavering" in their commitment to support all efforts in bringing these perpetrators to justice, and also support the Centre's steps against Pakistan taken on Wednesday.

"In doing so, we affirm that no act of terror can ever weaken our resolve or extinguish our indomitable spirit. We also support the steps taken by the Union government announced yesterday," he added.