'Why do you assume terrorists came from Pakistan?': Chidambaram's remark on Pahalgam attackers stirs row

The senior Congress MP's remarks have drawn a sharp response from the ruling BJP.

Senior Congress leader and former Home Minister P Chidambaram has raised several questions regarding Centre's  handling of the Pahalgam terror attack and subsequent Operation Sindoor.

In an interview with news outlet The Quint, the senior Congress leader said the government has not provided adequate information and accused it of being unwilling to share key details. In a direct poser to the government, the former home minister sought to evoke a response from the government on the "assumption that the terrorists were from Pakistan". Are there any credible inputs to suggest that the attackers were from Pakistan, added the Congress leader.

"Where are the terrorists? Why have you not apprehended them, or even identified them? A news item has emerged about the arrest of a few people who gave the attackers shelter. What happened to them?" he asked, referring to the April 22 attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam attack that killed 26 people.

"Three months since the terror attack in Pahalgam, and over two months since Operation Sindoor "paused" in a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, several critical questions remain unanswered, both about the terror attack as well as the aftermath of India's kinetic response," Chidambaram reasoned during the interview.

The Lok Sabha, later today, will hold a discussion on Operation Sindoor. The Opposition parties, including the Congress, had written to the government demanding a discussion on Operation Sindoor before the commencement of the Parliament's Monsoon Session.

According to the official communication from the Parliament- Operation Sindoor will be discussed for 16 hours in the Lok Sabha on Monday, and for the same duration in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. During the discussion, the Opposition might seek the government's clarification on United States President Donald Trump's repeated claims of brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, a key issue which has been raised by them multiple times.