New Delhi/IBNS: The Opposition raised tough questions at the Centre during the all-party meeting on Friday evening over the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 civilians dead.

The meeting, convened by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah, came a day after the government announced its retaliatory measures against Pakistan.

These included the downgrading of diplomatic ties, expulsion of Pakistani military attaches, the suspension of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, and the closure of the Attari land-transit point.

The Opposition's scrutiny primarily focused on the lack of security presence in Baisaran, the tourist meadow near Pahalgam, where the attack took place.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi raised the question, which was echoed by several others, including Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh.

The Opposition asked why security personnel were not deployed at the site of the attack.

In its explanation, the government said that the Baisaran area is customarily secured ahead of the annual Amarnath Yatra, which begins in June.

It is during that time that the route is officially opened and security forces are deployed to ensure the safety of pilgrims who rest at Baisaran en route to the Amarnath cave shrine.

The Opposition asked why security personnel were not deployed at the site of the attack. The government explained that the Baisaran area is customarily secured ahead of the annual Amarnath Yatra, which begins in June.

It is then that the route is officially opened and security forces are deployed to ensure the safety of pilgrims who rest at Baisaran en route to the Amarnath cave shrine.

According to the Centre, local tour operators allegedly began taking tourists to the region starting from April 20, well before the security apparatus was mobilised for the pilgrimage season.

Government representatives at the meeting said that the local administration did not inform them about the early commencement of tourist visits, and as a result, there was no deployment of troops.

The Opposition also questioned the Centre regarding its decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty if India lacks storage capacity.

Responding to this, government officials said that the move was not about immediate outcomes but a symbolic and strategic gesture.

"The treaty was suspended to show the government's intention to take strict action. This has been done to give a strong message. This decision also tells what the government's stand is going to be in the future," the government said.

The Indian Government on Wednesday evening suspended the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan indefinitely as a part of some strict measures taken against Islamabad over the "cross-border linkages" that emerged during the investigation into the Pahalgam terror attack.

In a letter to Syed Ali Murtuza, Secretary in the Ministry of Water Resources of Pakistan, India said, "The obligation to honour a treaty in good faith is fundamental to a treaty. However, what we have seen instead is sustained cross border terrorism by Pakistan targeting the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir".

PM Modi's message against terrorism

Earlier, PM Modi sent a strong message against terrorism to the world and said the terrorists and their backers will pay unimaginable costs for the attack on innocent tourists in Kashmir's Pahalgam.

Addressing a rally in Bihar's Madhubani, Modi had said: "From the soil of Bihar I tell the whole world that India will identify them and punish every terrorist and their backers. We will pursue them to the end of the earth. India's spirit will never be broken by terrorism. Terrorism will not go unpunished."

"Every effort will be made to ensure justice is done," he had said, adding that the entire country is grieving the merciless killings.

Opposition backs govt

After attending an all-party meeting on Thursday evening where the leaders were briefed by intelligence and government officials, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi told reporters, "All political parties have uniformly condemned it and the Opposition has given full support to the government to take any action."

"We want peace to be restored in Jammu and Kashmir as soon as possible," said Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge.