A month before the Pahalgam attack, home minister Amit Shah had told Parliament that incidents of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir had declined considerably because of the Narendra Modi government's zero tolerance towards militancy.

On March 21, Shah was replying to a discussion on the functioning of the ministry of home affairs in the Rajya Sabha when he said the government had given a befitting reply by carrying out surgical strikes in Pakistan after terror attacks in Uri and Pulwama.

He said the previous UPA government had adopted a mild approach towards terrorism. "We knew that terrorists were intruding into Kashmir from the neighbouring country every day and were involved in bombing and killing people. The Union government’s response used to be mild. After Modi came to power, we have adopted a zero-tolerance policy on terrorism," Shah said.

"There were two countries which were sincere about their security forces and their border — Israel and America. In that list, India's name has been added," Shah said.

The minister said Article 370 was the root cause of separatism. The Modi government scrapped it in 2019.

"Along with the abrogation of (Article) 370, we took many steps because of which Indian youths joining terrorists had reached near zero. Ten years ago, terrorists were being hailed. Big processions were organised for funerals. More terrorists are being killed today but no procession was taken out. We bury them on the spot where they are killed," Shah said.

Shah said incidents of terrorism had declined from 7,270 between 2004 and 2014 to 2,242 between 2014 and 2024. The number of deaths has come down by 70 per cent, including 81 per cent in deaths of citizens and 50 per cent in deaths of security personnel. "It shows terrorism has come down," Shah said.

On average, 2,654 cases of organised stone pelting were witnessed between 2010 and 2014. In 2014, nobody had the courage to organise such an incident. There is no organised hartal these days, he said, adding that in 2004, there were 1,587 incidents. In 2024, only 85 incidents occurred.

Referring to Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra, Shah said: "Someone went to Kashmir and said he had seen terrorists from a distance. If you have terrorists in your sight, you will see them in your dreams and in Kashmir too. When we see them, we shoot them between two eyes. Our government can tolerate neither terrorists nor terrorism. There is no place in the country to play Holi with the blood of citizens."

He said all the residences near Lal Chowk in Srinagar had put up the Tricolour during the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign.

Shah had also said that tourism had prospered. In 2023, 2.11 crore tourists visited Kashmir, the highest after Independence. He said that in the 2024 general election, not a single bullet was fired. There was no complaint of rigging in Jammu and Kashmir. Now 98 per cent of the people are casting votes, he said.

"Kashmir has developed in this period. In 2015, Modiji gave 63 projects worth ₹80,000 crore. Of this amount, ₹51,000 crore has been spent and 53 projects have been implemented. Between 2019 and 2024, 40,000 government jobs have been given. An investment atmosphere has been created in Kashmir. In the last 10 years, investments of ₹12,000 crore have come to Kashmir," he said.