We must stand united to defeat terrorism once & forever, says Rahul Gandhi in J&K

Srinagar, April 25 (IANS) Senior Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Friday said that the idea of the terrorists is to divide the society, and make brother fight brother, but the people of India must stand together to defeat terrorism once and forever.

Addressing the media here at the end of his daylong visit to the Kashmir Valley in the wake of the Pahalgam attack, Gandhi said: "It has been a terrible tragedy, and I came here to get a sense of what is happening and to help."

"I met one of the injured because the rest of the injured have gone back home. I assure the families who have lost their dear ones that the entire nation stands as one with them," he said.

Noting that the "entire J&K has condemned this terrible action and they have fully supported the nation this time", he said: "The idea of the attack was to divide the society and make brother fight brother. It is very important that every individual and the entire nation stands as one so that we can defeat what the terrorists want to do."

Terming it "sad to see that some people are attacking my brothers and sisters from Kashmir in the rest of the country", Gandhi said that it is important that all of us stand together to defeat terrorism.

"We had a (all-party) meeting yesterday (on Thursday) and the united opposition has assured the government that we support whatever action the government wants to take. I met the Chief Minister and the LG. They briefed me about the situation. I assured them that I and my party support the government in whatever action they take to end terrorism once and for all," the Congress leader asserted.

Earlier on Friday, Gandhi visited the Army's Base Hospital in Badamibagh Cantonment area of Srinagar, where he met one of the injured tourists.

A total of 26 civilians were killed, and around two dozen people were injured in that cowardly terror attack that took place in Baisaran meadow of Pahalgam.

As per Congress leaders, Rahul Gandhi met various delegations, including those from the party and trade and tourism sectors. He also met Lt Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

"Rahul Gandhi has come with a message of ‘healing the wounds’ of the people of the country, including Kashmiris, in the wake of the attack and its aftermath," a Congress leader said.

On his arrival, Gandhi was received by J&K Congress President, Tariq Hameed Karra and senior leader G.A. Mir at the airport.

Gandhi attended an all-party meeting on Thursday called by the Centre to brief parties on the horrific terror attack, and extended his full support to the government’s action.

He had cut short his visit to the US to attend the crucial meeting of the Congress Working Committee scheduled on Thursday.

At the all-party meeting held in New Delhi on Thursday, the Congress offered complete support to the government to avenge the killings of innocent civilians in Pahalgam by the terrorists.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his first reaction to the Pahalgam terror attack, said in Bihar on Thursday that the terrorists responsible for the Pahalgam attack, their handlers and backers would get such punishment they would not even have imagined.

“The time has come to destroy the shrinking space of these terrorists and their backers. We will chase them to the ends of the earth”, the PM said.

--IANS

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