All party meeting tomorrow over Pahalgam attack in Parliament

The Union government has convened an all-party meeting in Parliament on Thursday, April 24, following the terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which claimed the lives of 26 tourists. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will chair the meeting. Leaders from across political parties have been invited to discuss the emerging security situation and India’s official response. The move is aimed at building consensus across the political spectrum in the wake of the incident.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a 2.5-hour emergency meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), cutting short his visit to Saudi Arabia. The meeting was attended by key ministers and top officials including Home Minister Amit Shah, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Cabinet Secretary T.V. Somanathan, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, and the Prime Minister’s principal secretaries PK Mishra and Shaktikanta Das.

According to sources present at the CCS meeting, officials briefed the committee on intelligence inputs that linked the attack to Pakistan-backed Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives. Home Minister Amit Shah, who visited the site in Pahalgam earlier, presented a detailed ground report and assessed the ongoing security operations. The attack, which took place in the Baisaran area of Pahalgam, involved indiscriminate firing on a group of unarmed tourists and is one of the deadliest in recent years.

Following the CCS meeting, the Indian government announced a series of diplomatic actions. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri declared the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan, the cancellation of all SAARC visas for Pakistani nationals, and the immediate closure of the Attari-Wagah border. Misri said, “These steps are being taken in the national interest. India will not allow its goodwill to be exploited while innocent civilians are targeted.”

Political parties across the board have condemned the attack. Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi spoke to Amit Shah on Wednesday night to express concern, while other parties such as the Nationalist Congress Party demanded a joint all-party consultation. The decision to call Thursday’s all-party meeting was taken during the CCS discussions to ensure a united front on national security and diplomatic measures.