Congress will support govt action: Chidambaram after Pahalgam terror attack

When asked about whether restoration of statehood would improve the security situation in the Union Territory, the former union home minister said that it is a separate issue but absolutely necessary

A day after a terror attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, left 26 people dead, senior Congress leader and former Union home minister P Chidambaram said that the government should weigh its options and choose the most effective further course of action, adding that his party would support that.

 

Speaking to The Indian Express newspaper, Chidambaram said that the government should first and foremost launch a manhunt and apprehend the terrorists responsible for the attack. Second, he said, the attack warrants a thorough security review of the intelligence sources in the valley, adding that the killings were a failure of local intelligence sources.

 

"It is difficult to police such a vast country or a sensitive state in the absence of local information/intelligence," he was quoted as saying.

 

As for the further course of action and the Congress party's stand on it, Chidambaram said that the government should weigh its options and choose the most effective one. "The Congress will support the government’s decision," he said.

 

 

Will statehood stabilise security?

 

Chidambaram added that while statehood for the region is a separate issue, he also said it was "absolutely necessary" for stabilizing the security situation there.

 

He further clarified that restoration of the statehood has nothing to do with terrorist attacks; however, the lack of it breeds resentment, he said.

 

"If statehood is restored, the first responsibility will lie with the state government and that may help in fighting terrorists," he added.

 

One of the deadliest attacks to date in J&K

 

The terror attack at Baisaran meadow in Pahalgam has been one of the deadliest attacks in the region since the Pulwama bombing of a busful of security personnel in 2019.

 

Central agency sources have said that The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy group of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has claimed responsibility for the attack.

 

 

Following the attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was on an official trip to Saudi Arabia, cut short his visit and returned to India early Wednesday morning. Immediately upon landing in Delhi, he convened a high-level meeting with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and top officials to assess the situation and strategise the government’s next steps.

 

He is currently chairing a crucial meet of the Cabinet Committee of Security or CCS, which is also being attended by Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Foreign Minister S Jaishanker, and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval at the PM's residence in New Delhi. The Ministry of External Affairs is expected to make a statement after the meeting concludes.

 

Describing the attack as a “heinous act,” PM Modi has vowed justice, saying “Those behind this heinous act will be brought to justice.”