How would Owaisi respond to Pahalgam attack as PM? AIMIM chief's response ...

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday said that India "wasted an opportunity" to give a strong response to Pakistan after the Pahalgam attack, questioning why the government agreed to a ceasefire with the neighbour.

At a press conference in Pune, Owaisi was asked how he would have responded to the Pahalgam attack if he were Prime Minister.

The AIMIM chief quipped that he has no interest in imagining such things.

“Mere bhai, ye khwab dekhne ka mujhe shaukh nahi (I do not dream about all these). I deal with reality and know the extent of my reach. Our aim is not just to sit in power or become ministers. But as an Indian national, I must say, after Pahalgam, we had a real opportunity to give a strong response. Why did it stop? I don’t know, truly, I don’t know why it stopped… It was a war-like situation," he said.

Questioning the "sudden halt" in Operation Sindoor, Owaisi said that India should not have stopped the escalation when the entire country was ready to deliver a decisive response.

"Now, you sit in Parliament and speak about gaining PoK,” he said, taking a dig at the Narendra Modi government.

India and Pakistan reached a ceasefire on May 10 after four days of military hostilities when the Pakistani DGMO reached out to his Indian counterpart. The government and the Army have maintained that Operation Sindoor was only paused and not ceased.

India launched the military strikes against terror infrastructure in Pakistan after 26 people, mostly tourists, were shot dead by terrorists near Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22, 2025.

During the briefing, Owaisi also slammed the Centre over India playing against Pakistan in the recently concluded Asia Cup cricket tournament.

Owaisi said pluralism is the essence of India.

The AIMIM chief has been severely critical of Pakistan in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack, calling for a decisive response against the country.

(With inputs from PTI)