Hyderabad, 23 April

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday alleged the Pahalgam terror attack was the result of an intelligence failure.

He demanded the Narendra Modi government to fix accountability over the incident saying the attack is more dangerous, condemnable and painful than the similar incidents in Uri and Pulwama.

Speaking to reporters here, the Hyderabad MP strongly condemned the incident and expressed hope that the government will teach a lesson to all these terrorists and ensure justice to the families of victims at the earliest.

"The terrorists indiscriminately killed innocent people after asking their religion in Pahalgam. We strongly condemn this. We expect the government would take strict action. Another important thing is that this is also an intelligence failure," he said.

The Narendra Modi government should see to it that to what extent their deterrence policy is succeeding or not, he said.

The intention of the terrorists, who came from the neighbouring country is to spread terror and kill innocents here in India, he said.

"This is a painful incident and it is a massacre," Owaisi said.

The AIMIM stands with the families of victims of the incident and pray for the early wellbeing of those injured, he said.

He further said efforts (by some forces) were being made to inflict loss to the tourism industry in Kashmir.

Terrorists struck a prime tourist location of Pahalgam in south Kashmir on Tuesday, killing at least 26 people and injuring several others.

The 26 dead included two foreigners - from the UAE and Nepal - and two locals, officials said.