New Delhi, Apr 24 (KNO): An All Party Meeting (APM) chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh here on Thursday condemned the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 civilians dead and opposition told the government it backs all the actions against terrorism.
Official sources told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that the developments following the terror attack in Pahalgam were thoroughly discussed during the meeting. The opposition offered unconditional support to the government's actions in combating terrorism.
The meeting was chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, and other senior leaders and ministers from across the political spectrum, including Union Ministers JP Nadda, Praful Patel, and Nirmala Sitharaman. Also present were TDP’s Lavu Srikrishna, Shiv Sena’s Shrikant Shinde, and opposition leaders Supriya Sule, Asaduddin Owaisi, T. Siva, and Premchand Gupta.
After the meeting ended, Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said everyone condemned the Pahalgam terrorist attack while the opposition has given full support to the government to take any action.
Gandhi also confirmed that he will visit Srinagar on Friday. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that efforts should be made to maintain peace in Jammu and Kashmir.
From the Aam Aadmi Party, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said that innocent tourists have been killed and in response, the terrorists should be given a reply in their own language. "We have all unanimously agreed that we have to give them a befitting reply for the Pahalgam terror attack," he said.
Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay said that "security lapses were discussed” and said “all parties are with the government in handling terror.”
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said that the government informed political parties about its preparedness to take stronger actions if needed. “The situation in Kashmir had remained peaceful in recent years, but the latest terror attack has shattered that calm,” Rijiju said.
He added that all political parties expressed concern over the recent developments and agreed on the need to act collectively against terrorism. “All political parties agreed on the need to stand together in the fight against terrorism,” he said, calling the meeting “constructive, with consensus across the board on supporting the government in its response to the Pahalgam attack.”
BJD MP Sasmit Patra said that the consensus that has come out of this meeting is that all the parties are together on this matter and we support the government fully in whatever actions they take to bring the perpetrators to justice.
The meeting also included a presentation by Director of Intelligence Bureau Tapan Deka. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is expected to brief international partners in the coming days as part of India’s diplomatic outreach—(KNO)