Pahalgam terror attack: Rajnath Singh to brief leaders at all-party meet today
Twenty six people were killed and several others were injured in the attack carried out by The Resistance Front terror group.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh will on Thursday chair an all-party meeting in the evening to brief leaders on the dastardly terror attack which took place in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam on Tuesday. Twenty six people were killed and several others were injured in the attack carried out by The Resistance Front terror group.
The decision to call an all-party meeting was taken on Wednesday. Union home minister Amit Shah is also expected to be present at the briefing.
According to people aware of the development, NDA ally Janata Dal (United) will not be present during the meeting which will be held at 6 pm but the party has announced it will support whatever decision the government takes.
JD(U) working president Sanjay Jha said party leaders will be in Madhubani in Bihar for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled programmes on the occasion of National Panchayati Raj Divas.
“Whatever decision will be taken in the meeting, JD(U) will stand with the government and support the Centre in the country’s interest,” Jha told ANI in Bihar .
AIMIM lawmaker Asaddudin Owaisi, however, criticised the government for not inviting several parties including his for the all party meeting later in the day.
Owaisi said he was informed that only those parties with more than five lawmakers would be present for the meeting.
In a post on X, he said, "I spoke to @KirenRijiju last night. They’re thinking of inviting only parties with “5 or 10 MPs.” When I asked why not parties with fewer MPs, he said that the meeting would get “too long.” When I asked “What about us, the smaller parties?” He joked that my voice is anyway too loud."
Owaisi said the meeting was not an "internal meeting" of the BJP but a platform to to send a strong and united message against terrorism and those countries that harbour terrorists.
"Can’t @narendramodi spend an extra hour to hear the concerns of all parties? Your own party does not have a majority. Whether it is a party with 1 MP or a 100, they were both elected by Indians and deserve to be heard on such an important matter. This is not a political issue, it is a national issue...." he said.
India on Wednesday downgraded the already-strained diplomatic ties with Pakistan, and announced a slew of countermeasures, including suspension of the Indus Water Treaty, 1960, shutting down of the Attari-Wagah border and expulsion of Pakistani military attaches.
