Pahalgam terror attack: Govt admits authorities were unaware Baisaran Valley was opened for tourists

New Delhi: The Government on Thursday indicated a security lapse at terror-ravaged Pahalgam’s Baisaran valley by opening up the locality to tourists two months ahead of schedule without informing agencies, prompting Opposition leaders at an all-party meeting to seek accountability.

While all parties extended support to the government in the fight against terrorism, sources said Opposition parties also found fault in the absence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the meeting, as well as raised concerns over hate campaigns on social media following Tuesday's terror attack.

At the meeting chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, sources said a Special Director in the Intelligence Bureau briefed the leaders about the incident. He told them that the locality was thrown open to tourists on April 20 without informing security forces, while usually, it is accessible to tourists and Amarnath pilgrims only in June.

The officer also told the leaders that security personnel were not present when terrorists picked their targets on April 22, sources said.

This prompted a flurry of questions from the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, about possible security and intelligence lapses and was supported by I.N.D.I.A. bloc leaders like NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar)’s Supriya Sule, AAP’s Sanjay Singh and Muslim League’s Haris Beeran, sources said.

“Are you saying that you are admitting security lapses as security personnel were absent? Are you saying that you (security agencies) did not know that thousands of tourists are reaching the locality? Are you saying that you did not know that the locality was open?” sources quoted Rahul as saying.

Sule said a travel agent in Pune knew that the Baisaran valley was open and he was sending tourists to the locality. “If a travel agent can know about this, why can’t our security agencies know?” Sule asked.

As Opposition leaders continued to raise the issue, sources said a senior minister told them that they were holding a meeting because there is “some issue” and that they want to “fix it for future”.

Sources said the officials told leaders that troops were present in Pahalgam but not deployed because the local authorities did not know about tourists being taken to Baisaran, as tour operators and local hoteliers did not inform them about the movement of the tourists. Deployment of forces takes place based on details provided by tour operators, they added.

AAP’s Singh told reporters that they were surprised to hear about this and demanded that the accountability be fixed and action be taken as to why there was a security lapse.

While concerns were also raised about media and social media narrative blaming the Muslim community for the terror attack, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju told reporters that the meeting was productive and that the Defence Minister told the parties that the government intends to take stronger actions against terrorism.

“The Defence Minister briefed them about the decisions (taken against Pakistan). He said there will be zero tolerance to terror…and the government is intending to take stronger actions,” he said.

Sources said Beeran demanded that Parliament be convened at the earliest to discuss the issue. He also raised the issue of vacancies in security agencies and whether it had an impact on deployment in sensitive areas.

TDP’s Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu asked whether India’s action on the Indus Water Treaty would become a precedent and encourage China to take any action on Brahmaputra, sources said. He also urged the government to take steps to revive the “fragile” tourism sector of Kashmir.

AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi asked whether CRPF was removed from the area to which a senior CRPF official said deployment is dynamic, sources said.

Trinamool Congress’ Sudip Bandhyopadhyay said all parties are with the Union Government in the fight against terrorism and demanded that Modi should call a meeting of party chiefs at the earliest. “Why was there no security force deployment at such an important tourist spot like Pahalgam? Why is BJP turning this into a Hindu-Muslim issue?” he said.

BJD's Sasmit Patra said his party urged the government to take all necessary steps to ensure that the perpetrators of this gruesome attack are brought to justice. “BJD reaffirms its full cooperation and support with the government in all its efforts concerning the national security of the nation,” he added