Pulwama attack: All-party meet chaired by Rajnath Singh strongly condemns 'dastardly terror act'

An all-party meeting called by Centre to deliberate upon the situations arising out of Pulwama terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir passed a resolution strongly condemning the ''dastardly terror act''. 

The meeting chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh released the resolution which read, "We strongly condemn the dastardly terror act of 14th February at Pulwama in J&K in which lives of 40 brave jawans of CRPF were lost".

The resolution did not name Pakistan but asserted that India has been facing the menace of the cross-border terrorism which of late, it added, is being actively encouraged by forces from the neighbouring country.

"India has displayed both firmness and resilience in dealing with these challenges. The entire nation speaks in one voice to express its determination to fight these challenges. Today, we stand united in solidarity with our security forces in fighting terrorism and in defending the unity and integrity of India," it said.

Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said that they had requested Rajnath Singh to request the prime minister to convene a meeting of presidents of all national and regional parties. 

Azad said his view was supported by other parties too.

Leaders from different political parties including Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan, National Conference patron Farooq Abdullah, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Narendra Singh Tomar among many leaders attended the meeting.

Nearly 40 CRPF personnel were killed when a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorist rammed a vehicle carrying over massive explosives into their bus on Srinagar-Jammu national highway on Thursday at around 3.15 pm at Ladhu Modi Lethpora. The convoy consisted of 78 buses in which around 2,500 CRPF personnel were travelling from Jammu to Srinagar.

Following the attack, India on Friday announced the withdrawal of Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to Pakistan. New Delhi had granted MFN status to Pakistan in 1996, a year after the formation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), but Pakistan never reciprocated.

The Central government has also stepped up diplomatic efforts to mount pressure on the Government of Pakistan to take action against those who have been indulging in exporting terror to India.

For long, India has sought the help of the global community in fighting against Pakistan sponsored terrorism.

(With inputs from agencies)