No evidence Pahalgam attackers came from Pakistan, says ex-Indian home minister

Demolishing propaganda of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, former Home Minister of India P. Chidambaram has said that the Pahalgam attackers could be homegrown terrorists and there was no evidence that they came from Pakistan.

Speaking to The Quint, Chidambaram also said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government was unwilling to disclose what investigation the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has done all these weeks into the terrorist incident.

“Have they (NIA) identified the terrorists or where they came from? For all we know, they could be homegrown terrorists. Why do you assume they came from Pakistan? There is no evidence of that,” he added.

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The Congress leader has come under attack by the ruling party leaders and supporters over his this statement, which has brought down the narrative on which’s basis India waged a days-long war against Pakistan and attacked the latter’s civilian population.

It should be noted that in April 2025, an attack in the tourist area of Pahalgam in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) resulted in the loss of 26 lives, after which India launched ‘Operation Sindoor’ against Pakistan.

Senator Sherry Rehman said Chidambaram’s statement on Pahalgam attack exposed the false narrative of the Indian government.

“India should reflect on its internal issues and security failures. No evidence has ever been presented proving Pakistan’s involvement in the attack,” she said, reminding New Delhi of Pakistan’s repeated demand to provide evidence about Islamabad’s alleged involvement in the attack.

Following Chidambaram’s statement, the ruling party of India, the BJP has been continuously criticising the Congress. Several BJP leaders have interpreted Chidambaram’s statement as giving a clean chit to Pakistan in the Pahalgam incident.

Countering the BJP’s attack over his statement, the former Indian home minister said the “worst kind of troll” is one who suppresses a full interview and uses two sentences to paint the speaker black.

“Trolls are of different kinds and use different tools to spread misinformation. The worst kind is a troll who suppresses the full recorded interview, takes two sentences, mutes some words, and paints the speaker in a black colour,” he wrote on his X account.