All-Party Meeting: Government Answers Opposition On Security Absence In Pahalgam

At Thursday's all-party conference, the opposition voiced grave worries about the lack of protection at Baisaran, which is close to Pahalgam and the scene of the terror assault that killed 26 civilians. A day after India launched a series of punitive measures against Pakistan in reaction to the fatal attack, the meeting was called by Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

The 1960 Indus Waters Treaty was suspended, Pakistani military advisers were expelled, diplomatic ties with Islamabad were downgraded, and the Attari land crossing point was immediately closed as part of these retaliatory measures.

The main topic of the opposition's questions during the meeting was why Baisaran, a well-known tourist destination, had not seen any security deployment. The issue was formally brought up by Congressman Rahul Gandhi, with support from Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh and Rajya Sabha Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge.

The Center responded by explaining that the Baisaran region is usually guarded before the yearly Amarnath Yatra, which begins in June. When the path is formally opened to pilgrims, who frequently stop at Baisaran en way to the Amarnath cave shrine, security deployment starts.

According to officials, local travel companies started bringing visitors to the region on April 20-much earlier than the security forces were called in for the yatra season. According to the government, the absence of soldier presence can be explained by the local administration not being informed of this early tourist movement.

Given India's present water storage capacity constraints, the opposition also questioned the reasoning behind the Indus Waters Treaty's suspension. The government retorted that this was not an action with immediate operational effects, but rather a symbolic and strategic decision. According to officials, the decision was made to emphasize India's resolute position against cross-border terrorism and to send a clear message to Pakistan.

In his opening remarks, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh described the current state of security. In a 20-minute presentation, Tapan Deka, director of the Intelligence Bureau, provided a thorough overview of the attack's chronology, pre-event intelligence inputs, and the security services' following actions.

A broad spectrum attended the gathering. BJP President and Rajya Sabha Leader JP Nadda, 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) were present alongside Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge.

The Center stated that it will keep examining national security procedures to stop similar mistakes in the future and that it is dedicated to acting decisively against terrorism.