The Congress on Wednesday criticised the Modi government on the first anniversary of the Pahalgam terror attack, saying Pakistan had been isolated after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks but has now acquired "global respectability, reflecting what it called a "complete failure" of the prime minister's foreign policy.
The opposition party also called for a reset of the government's foreign policy but said Prime Minister Narendra Modi "will most certainly" not do it.
In a post on X, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said April 22nd will always be a day of great pain and intense anguish for every Indian.
"Exactly a year ago, the terror attack orchestrated by Pakistan took place in Pahalgam. Our thoughts are with the bereaved families. We also recall the bravery of the young local ponywallah who was shot dead while trying to save a tourist," Ramesh said.
The LG of Jammu and Kashmir admitted it was an intelligence failure, he claimed. "It is not clear what action was taken on this admission, even though the killers themselves were brought to justice a few months later," Ramesh said.
Pakistan stood isolated after it had carried out the terror attacks in Mumbai in November 2008, he said.
"Its (Pakistan) economy continues to be in shambles, dependent on largesse from external donors. Separatist movements are deeply entrenched in its polity and society. Its politics is dysfunctional and it is the Army that is calling the shots in the country," Ramesh said.
"Yet today, that very same failed state whose army chief had made inflammatory and communally provocative statements just a few days prior to the deadly deed, has now acquired a new global respectability," he said.
"In many ways, this reflects the complete failure of the substance of the Prime Minister's foreign policy and the self-glorifying style of his diplomatic engagement," Ramesh alleged.
"Should he reset? Of course, yes. Will he reset? Most certainly he will not," the Congress leader said.
Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba carried out an attack at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir on this day last year, killing 26 innocent people, mostly tourists from across India.
After the Pahalgam terror attack, India carried out a retaliatory military offensive against Pakistan named Operation Sindoor, in which Indian armed forces destroyed military and terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir.