The Opposition raised pointed questions at the Centre during the all-party meeting on Thursday evening over the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 civilians dead. The meeting, convened by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah, came a day after the government announced a suite of retaliatory measures against Pakistan.
These included the downgrading of diplomatic ties, expulsion of Pakistani military attaches, the suspension of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, and the closure of the Attari land-transit point.
The Opposition’s scrutiny during the meeting centred primarily on the absence of security forces in Baisaran, the tourist meadow near Pahalgam, where the attack took place. The question was formally raised by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and echoed by several others, including Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh.
The Opposition asked why security personnel were not deployed at the site of the attack. The government explained that the Baisaran area is customarily secured ahead of the annual Amarnath Yatra, which begins in June. It is then that the route is officially opened and security forces are deployed to ensure the safety of pilgrims who rest at Baisaran en route to the Amarnath cave shrine.
According to the Centre, local tour operators allegedly began taking tourists to the region starting from April 20, well before the security apparatus had been mobilised for the pilgrimage season. Government representatives at the meeting stressed that the local administration had not been informed about the early commencement of tourist visits, and thus no deployment of troops had occurred.
Another question raised by the Opposition was why the Centre suspended the Indus Waters Treaty if India lacks storage capacity.
Responding to this, government officials said that the move was not about immediate outcomes but a symbolic and strategic gesture.
“The treaty was suspended to show the government’s intention to take strict action. This has been done to give a strong message. This decision also tells what the government’s stand is going to be in the future,” the government said.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh opened the meeting with an overview of the current security scenario. Intelligence Bureau Director Tapan Deka delivered a 20-minute presentation that covered the sequence of the Pahalgam attack, intelligence inputs, and steps taken since the incident.
The meeting saw the participation of a wide range of political leaders. Apart from Mr Kharge and Mr Gandhi, BJP President and Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha JP Nadda was in attendance. Other notable participants included Supriya Sule (NCP-SP), Praful Patel (NCP), Sasmit Patra (BJD), Shrikant Shinde (Shiv Sena), Premchand Gupta (RJD), Tiruchi Siva (DMK), and Ram Gopal Yadav (SP).
