Pahalgam terror attack: Centre to brief leaders at all-party meet

The Centre will brief leaders of various political parties on the Pahalgam terror attack and hear their views at an all-party meeting to be held on Thursday evening.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah are expected to brief the leaders, official sources said. Singh will chair the meeting.

With the government announcing a host of measures targeting Pakistan in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack where terrorists killed at least 26 persons, mostly tourists, on Tuesday, sources said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar may also speak at the meeting.

The decision to call an all-party meeting was taken on Wednesday, with Singh and Shah reaching out to various parties.

There has been a convention for calling an all-party meeting following an incident with serious repercussions related to national security, as was seen after the Pulwama terror attack in 2019 or during the India-China standoff in 2020.

It helps present a picture of national unity in moments of crises and allows the opposition leaders to convey their views to the government and be briefed in detail on the official position.

Targeting Pakistan following the attack in Pahalgam, India on Wednesday downgraded diplomatic ties with it and announced a raft of measures, including expulsion of Pakistani military attaches, suspension of the Indus Water Treaty of 1960 and immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit post.

The decisions were taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.