Congress seeks special parliament session after Pahalgam attack claims 26 lives

The Indian National Congress has called for a special parliamentary session to address the April 22 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which claimed 26 lives.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge urged the government to convene a special session of both Houses of Parliament in response to the attack.

In his letter, Kharge stated that the proposed session would be a platform to express a joint stance on the attack and would demonstrate a collective resolve to address the situation.

The Congress President also wrote that the opposition believes in unity and solidarity as the need of the hour.

"At this moment, when unity and solidarity is essential, Opposition believes that it is important to convene a special session of both houses of Parliament at the earliest. This will be a powerful demonstration of our collective resolve and will to deal with the brutal terror attack in Pahalgam on innocent citizens on 22 April 2025. It is our fond hope that the session will be accordingly convened," the letter read.


The request comes amid increased political focus on national security and responses to terrorism, amidst outrage and mourning following the terror attack on April 22.

Earlier on Monday, the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly held a special session condemning the terror attack in Pahalgam.

During the session, a resolution was adopted to express strong disapproval of the attack and to extend solidarity to the victims and their families.

Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary moved the resolution condemning the Pahalgam terror attack at the start of the session, following opening remarks from speaker Abdul Rahim Rather.

The resolution endorsed the diplomatic measures announced by the Union Government after the Cabinet Committee on Security meeting.

The resolution was adopted without any division, following which the assembly session was adjourned sine die.

Meanwhile, JK Chief Minister Omar Abdullah further affirmed that he would not be demanding statehood for Jammu and Kashmir in the name of the 26 people who have died in a terror attack, stating that his politics was not "so cheap".

He, however, stated that he would still demand statehood for the region, but not at this very moment when the country still mourns the loss of the 26 people.

The attack in Pahalgam is one of the deadliest attacks in the Valley since the 2019 Pulwama strike, in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed. Following the Pahalgam terror attack, India has taken strong measures against Pakistan for its support of cross-border terrorism.

(with ANI inputs)