The Centre will brief leaders of various political parties on the Pahalgam terror attack and hear their views at an all-party meeting to be held on Thursday evening.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah are expected to brief the leaders, official sources said. Singh will chair the meeting.

With the government announcing a host of measures targeting Pakistan in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack where terrorists killed at least 26 persons, mostly tourists, on Tuesday, sources said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar may also speak at the meeting.

The decision to call an all-party meeting was taken on Wednesday, with Singh and Shah reaching out to various parties.

There has been a convention for calling an all-party meeting following an incident with serious repercussions related to national security, as was seen after the Pulwama terror attack in 2019 or during the India-China standoff in 2020.

It helps present a picture of national unity in moments of crises and allows the opposition leaders to convey their views to the government and be briefed in detail on the official position.

Targeting Pakistan following the attack in Pahalgam, India on Wednesday downgraded diplomatic ties with it and announced a raft of measures, including expulsion of Pakistani military attaches, suspension of the Indus Water Treaty of 1960 and immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit post.

The decisions were taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

PM should chair all-party meeting on Pahalgam terror attack: Congress

The Congress on Thursday said it expects Prime Minister Narendra Modi to chair the all-party meeting scheduled for this evening on the Pahalgam terror attack, and take all political parties into confidence as well as build a collective resolve.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said that on the night of April 22nd itself his party had asked for an all-party meeting to discuss the fallout of the brutal Pahalgam terror attack and the targeted killings of so many tourists.

"Considering the extreme seriousness of the issue and the mood of the nation, the Indian National Congress expects the PM to chair the All-Party meeting scheduled for 6 PM today and take all political parties into confidence and build a collective resolve," Ramesh said.