All political parties across political affiliations condemned the terror attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir in unison while calling for efforts to maintain peace in the state, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said after attending an all-party meeting convened by the government on Thursday in the aftermath of the terror attack that left 26 people dead and several injured.

The government, at the meeting, chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, however, conceded that there was a security lapse, a member, not willing to go on record, said.

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Talking to reporters after the meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said that the Pahalgam attack was carried out to “vitiate the atmosphere when economy was on upswing and tourism was booming.

Mr Rijiju said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh briefed the meeting on how the Pahalgam attack took place and subsequent decisions being taken by the government.

Reasserting that all parties ensured that they are with the government against terror, he said the IB and MHA officials briefed the members on the “lapses” and the steps being taken to prevent recurrence of such attacks. He said that the government has assured the leaders of action against terror.

Rahul Gandhi said everyone uniformly condemned the attack and offered full support to the government to take any action. “Opposition has given Centre full support to take any action,” he said.

While on the government’s side the meeting among others was attended by Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers J P Nadda, Members of Parliament from more than 12 political parties also attended the meeting.

Earlier in the day, the Congress stated that the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam was an outcome of “intelligence failure and security lapses” even as the party blamed Pakistan for “masterminding” the assault.

The Congress Working Committee (CWC), the top decision-making body of the party, held an emergency meeting to deliberate on the Pahalgam terror attack.

The resolution passed by the party in the meeting said, “It is imperative that a comprehensive analysis is conducted into the intelligence failures and security lapses that enabled such an attack in a Union territory — an area directly under the purview of the Union Home Ministry.”

The CPI (M) had earlier condemned the Pahalgam attack asking the government to probe all angles including lack of security in crowded areas.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had raised the issue of safety of Kashmiri students across other states. “We stand unwavering in our commitment to support all efforts to bring perpetrators of the Pahalgam attack to justice,” Omar Abdullah.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has condemned the terror attack on tourists in Pahalgam, asserting that the Centre should have taken ‘stricter’ decisions on this matter.

Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh had said that India should give a befitting reply to the terrorist incident in Pahalgam. “If Pakistan is promoting terrorists, then take action against it too. Do not give any relaxation to anyone,” he demanded.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) also condemned the Pahalgam terror attack dubbing it as “unthinkable” and called for justice for the victims. The party had stressed the need for an investigation into the security lapse.

The Trinamool Congress Party (TMC) also questioned the security failure, which it felt led to the terrorist attack. The party also questioned the government’s earlier claims of “normalcy” in Jammu and Kashmir.

On Wednesday, the Cabinet Committee on Security presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to take several steps on the diplomatic front, including placing the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance, and cancelling visas issued to Pakistani nationals and closure of the integrated check post at Attari.

India has also declared the officials of the Pakistani High Commission persona non grata and ordered them to leave India within a week. The country further decided to cancel any visas provided under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) and ordered the Pakistani envoys to leave the country within 48 hours.