Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday condemned the Pahalgam terror attack as a “grotesque and inhuman” act and reiterated the central government’s commitment to a zero-tolerance policy against terrorism.
Speaking after meeting the family of Shubham Dwivedi, a 31-year-old Kanpur resident who was among the 26 victims of the attack, Adityanath said, “Terrorism is breathing its last. The decisions taken by the Centre under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership will be the final blow to terrorism.”
Key Highlights:
- Condemnation of the Attack: Adityanath strongly condemned the targeting of innocent civilians based on their religion. “Asking one’s religion before killing them, turning women into widows in front of their families – this is absolutely unacceptable in India,” he said.
- Support for Victims’ Families: The CM visited Dwivedi’s family and offered condolences, noting that he was recently married. “The pain is unimaginable,” Adityanath said, praying for peace for the departed soul.
- Strong Central Response: Referring to the Cabinet Committee on Security’s (CCS) response and Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to Kashmir, he said, “These actions will prove to be the last nail in the coffin of terrorism.”
- Zero Tolerance Approach: Emphasizing the Centre’s firm stance, he declared, “This is not a government that withdraws cases against terrorists or protects them for vote banks. We are determined to crush terrorism and punish those who support it.”
- Double Engine Government’s Resolve: Adityanath assured that the combined efforts of the Centre and the state governments—the “double engine”—will deliver a “befitting response” to those responsible for the attack.
Background: On Tuesday, terrorists opened fire in a meadow near the tourist hotspot of Pahalgam in South Kashmir, killing 26 people, many of them tourists. It marks the deadliest attack in Kashmir since the 2019 Pulwama bombing.
