Govt admitted to lapses during Pahalgam attack at all-party meet: Sharad Pawar

Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday said that defence minister Rajnath Singh and home minister Amit Shah during the all-party meeting showed “maturity” and accepted there was a shortfall in the security arrangements during the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, where local officials were unaware that tourists were being taken to Baisaran where the incident took place.

Pawar while speaking at Saswad near Pune, on Sunday, said the priority now must be to rebuild trust among citizens instead of indulging in political blame, adding that moments like these demand unity across political differences.

Pawar also pointed out that people across Kashmir, both Hindus and Muslims, condemned the attack, reinforcing their commitment to India’s unity.

“The central government had recently called a meeting of leaders from all political parties, which Supriya Sule attended on behalf of the NCP in the Lok Sabha. Discussions mainly focused on the recent terror attack. I am satisfied that key leaders — including the defence minister and the home minister — showed maturity by acknowledging there had been a lapse on their part. Although the government has accepted this, the focus now should not be on discussing shortcomings at this point,” Pawar said.

As per the reports, Shah during the all-party meeting spoke about how the meadow was opened to tourists without police permission, and in two days, more than 1,000 people had visited the site.

The opposition leaders claimed Shah told the all-party meeting that while there was no security presence at Baisaran on the day of the incident, 500 security personnel were present in Pahalgam on the day and that it took around 45 minutes to trek to the spot.

The terror attack claimed 26 lives on April 22, prompting India to take strict security measures.

Recalling his close ties with Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Pawar warned that any attempt to give a communal twist to the incident would harm the nation and must be firmly rejected.

“Some people are trying to give this a religious form is harmful for the country and we should not go down that path,” he said.