‘No country can ever have foolproof 100% intelligence,’ says Shashi Tharoor defending Govt over Pahalgam terror attack

Congress lawmaker Shashi Tharoor has defended the government’s response to the deadly terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on April 22. The attack, which targeted civilians and resulted in the deaths of 26 people, including Hindu tourists, has sparked widespread allegations of intelligence lapses. Tharoor, however, emphasized that no country could ensure foolproof intelligence, highlighting the common occurrence of intelligence failures in every nation.

Tharoor pointed out that intelligence agencies' successes are rarely made public, and the focus typically falls only on thwarted operations that fail. "No country can ever have foolproof 100% intelligence. We will never know about the various terror attacks that were successfully thwarted. We only get to know about the ones that we failed to thwart," Tharoor said. He argued that the national focus should be on managing the crisis rather than solely dwelling on intelligence shortcomings.

In drawing a comparison, Tharoor referenced the attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023, which caught even the world's most sophisticated intelligence agencies by surprise. He suggested that just as Israel refrained from demanding accountability until the conclusion of its ongoing conflict, India too should allow the current situation to play out before seeking answers on intelligence failures. This comparison aimed to reinforce his belief that the intelligence community's challenges should not overshadow the immediate need for crisis resolution.

While Tharoor acknowledged the existence of failures, his comments stand in contrast to those of his party leadership. The Congress party, led by President Mallikarjun Kharge, has called for a thorough investigation into the security lapses surrounding the attack. In an all-party meeting, Kharge questioned how such a major attack could occur despite the presence of a three-tier security system in place at the time. The Congress Working Committee (CWC) has called for a detailed analysis of the security lapses, stating that the government must take responsibility for the failures.

The government has also addressed the lapses, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah confirming that there were indeed shortcomings. The local authorities failed to inform the central security agencies about the situation before opening up the area for civilian access. This failure in communication between local authorities and security forces has been identified as a significant factor contributing to the breach in security. The government has promised to investigate the circumstances further and take necessary corrective actions.