NEW DELHI: The Narendra Modi-led Indian central government on Thursday admitted to a security lapse in the recent Pahalgam terror attack during a closed-door all-party meeting, sources told an Indian media outlet.
“If nothing had gone wrong, why would we be sitting here? There have been lapses somewhere that we have to find out,” a leader from the ruling dispensation reportedly told the opposition leaders during the meeting.
The government convened the all-party meeting to brief opposition leaders in the aftermath of the gruesome terror attack in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 26 people, mostly tourists and triggered a massive political and public outrage.
During the meeting, several opposition parties asked questions about the apparent failure of security protocols. “Where were the security forces? Where was the Central Reserve Police Force?” several leaders asked, according to the sources.
In response, the government reportedly said local authorities did not inform security agencies before opening the Baisaran area near Pahalgam in Anantnag district, which traditionally remains restricted until the Amarnath Yatra in June. Concerns were also raised about the delayed response to the incident. According to sources, government officials explained that the site was a 45-minute uphill walk and that no standard operating procedure (SOP) was in place to handle such emergencies swiftly.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, said that the opposition has extended full support to the central government to take any action in response to the gruesome terror attack in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi raised questions over security lapses, saying, “How can such a high-traffic area remain unprotected? If terrorists can reach Pahalgam, they can also endanger major cities like Srinagar.” He expressed surprise that not a single police officer or CRPF camp was present in the tourist-filled area. Former chief of army staff General VP Malik termed the attack a clear failure of intelligence agencies. He said, “At the peak of the tourist season, when thousands of tourists were present, where were the intelligence agencies? Where was our secret information? We must investigate this.”
Top ministers, including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju represented the government at the all-party meeting. Chaired by Rajnath Singh, the meeting brought together key parliamentary leaders — Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha JP Nadda, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and Lok Sabha Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi.
Supriya Sule (NCP-SP), Praful Patel (NCP), Asaduddin Owaisi (AIMIM), Sasmit Patra (BJD), Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu (TDP), Shrikant Shinde (Shiv Sena), Sanjay Singh (AAP), Sudip Bandopadhyay (TMC), Premchand Gupta (RJD), T Siva (DMK), and Ram Gopal Yadav (SP) were also present at the meeting.
Meanwhile, the Congress Central Working Committee (CWC) on Thursday accused Pakistan of “masterminding” the Pahalgam terror attack and called for a “comprehensive analysis of the intelligence and security failures”. It accused the BJP and its proxy social media handles of “exploiting the attack to sow further discord, mistrust, and polarisation”.
The articulation by the Congress’s highest decision-making body effected a subtle change from party president Mallikarjun Kharge’s comment that this was not the time for “partisan politics”.
“This is not an attack, we are putting out our primary findings. Don’t you feel that there is no security lapse? ... We being a responsible opposition party have to ask the question to the government for future also,” party general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal said, on being asked about the CWC resolution that talked about security lapse and attacked the BJP.
Venugopal, along with others, read out the CWC resolution, expressing “its deepest shock and condemnation of the heinous terrorist attack in Pahalgam”. “Pahalgam is known to be a heavily guarded area, secured by a three-tier security arrangement. It is imperative that a comprehensive analysis is conducted into the intelligence failures and security lapses that enabled such an attack in a Union Territory — an area directly under the purview of the Union Home Ministry. These questions must be raised in the larger public interest. This is the only way justice can truly be seen to be served for the families whose lives have been so brutally devastated,” the CWC noted.
The Congress CWC meeting was attended by former party chief Sonia Gandhi and others.
Noting that the massacre has drawn condemnation from all political parties in the IIOJK, the CWC resolution said, “However, it is shocking that the BJP is exploiting this grave tragedy through official and proxy social media platforms to sow further discord, mistrust, polarisation and division at a time when unity and solidarity are most needed.”
Meanwhile a senior journalist was assaulted by BJP workers while covering a protest against the Pahalgam militant attack in IIOJK’s Kathua district, after reportedly raising questions regarding the potential security lapses under the BJP-led Union government.
While covering the protest, journalist Rakesh Sharma was attacked after a party worker accused the journalists of using “separatist language” for asking security-related questions. “Who is responsible for the Pahalgam attack? Is the Ministry of Home Affairs not accountable?” he asked the BJP leaders.
Meanwhile, Shital Kalathiya, widowed after her husband was one among the 26 men brutally gunned down in the Pahalgam attack, criticised the security arrangements at the IIOJK, demanding justice from politicians and the government for families of terror victims. Her husband Shailesh Kalathiya, aged 44, had been an employee at a State Bank of India branch in Mumbai, who had applied for a week’s leave to take his family to Pahalgam for a vacation.
“All politicians, officials, and security came only after the incident for a photo op but were not there when my husband needed it most. What kind of government is this that could not save its citizens? I want the government to secure the futures of all families that have lost a member,” she urged. She also alleged that the blame was put on her family for travelling to Pahalgam when she had asked an army official for help, leading her to lose faith in them. Shital pointed out how they did not even receive the basic security they were entitled to, as tax-paying citizens. “The government cuts the tax before we get our salary. We pay taxes at the time of shopping and also pay toll tax. VIPs get all facilities, including helicopters. But when my husband needed security, he failed to get it.”
