Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge presided over the meeting in Delhi, which was attended by top leaders of the party, including Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Congress parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
Resolution adopted by the Congress Working Committee Meeting held today —
The Congress Working Committee (CWC) expresses its deepest shock and condemnation of the heinous terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on April 22, 2025, which claimed the lives of 26 innocent… pic.twitter.com/VxbDAhnXws
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) April 24, 2025
Later in the day, Kharge and Rahul, who cut short his trip to the United States, are scheduled to attend an all party meeting on the attack convened by the Centre, Congress general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal said after the CWC meeting..
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Intelligence failures, security lapses
In its resolution, the Congress also flagged intelligence failures and security lapses that enabled the attack, highlighting that the area comes directly under the purview of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. Pahalgam is located in Jammu and Kashmir, which became a Union territory (UT) in 2019.
“Pahalgam is known to be a heavily guarded area, secured by a three-tier security arrangement. It is imperative that a comprehensive analysis is conducted into the intelligence failures and security lapses that enabled such an attack in a Union Territory — an area directly under the purview of the Union Home Ministry. These questions must be raised in the larger public interest,” the CWC resolution further said.
On Wednesday, speaking to ThePrint, former Union home minister and senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram said that the attack may have stemmed from a failure of intelligence at the local level.
The main opposition party, which had previously called for shunning partisan politics and emphasised projecting a collective resolve to combat terror, also shifted its stance Thursday and used the resolution to hit out at the BJP.
The massacre, it said, has rightly drawn condemnation from all political parties in Jammu and Kashmir and from a wide cross-section of its citizens.
“However, it is shocking that the BJP is exploiting this grave tragedy through official and proxy social media platforms to sow further discord, mistrust, polarisation and division at a time when unity and solidarity are most needed,” said the Congress.
The BJP’s Chhattisgarh social media unit Wednesday drew flak from the Opposition for posting a cartoonised version of a photograph of a newly-married woman sitting next to her husband, killed in Pahalgam, with the caption, “Dharm pooccha, jaati nahi…yaad rakhenge (Asked for their religion, not caste…We will remember this).” This was a reference to reports that said the terrorists deliberately identified Hindu targets before shooting them.
The BJP also attacked the Congress and the Gandhi family following the remarks made by Robert Vadra, the husband of Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, that the terrorists were sending a message to Prime Minister Narendra Modi through the attack.
“The CWC appeals for calm and reaffirms the Indian National Congress’s longstanding resolve to combat cross-border terrorism with determination and unity,” said the resolution.
It also paid tribute to the local pony wallahs and tourist guides, one of whom was killed while trying to protect the tourists. It asked the government to treat the security of the upcoming Amarnath Yatra as a national priority.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
Also Read: Local intel lapse obvious, Pahalgam attack shows state & non-state actors still lurk—Chidambaram
