Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said that it was better late than never that Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha admitted there was an intelligence failure that led to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, PTI reported.

Abdullah also demanded that responsibility be fixed for the attack.

The terror attack at Baisaran near Pahalgam town in Jammu and Kashmir left 26 persons dead and 16 injured. The terrorists targeted tourists after asking their names to ascertain their religion, the police said. All but three of those killed were Hindu.

The chief minister was reacting to remarks made by Sinha during an interview with The Times of India on Monday that he takes “full responsibility” for the Pahalgam attack. The lieutenant governor had said that the attack was “undoubtedly a security failure”.

Abdullah told reporters on Tuesday: “After 80 days, it is better late than never. We did not say it [earlier] even knowing that such a big attack could not have taken place without [intelligence] failure.”

“He [Sinha] has perhaps said there was an intelligence failure,” the chief minister was quoted as saying. “If that is so, then who is responsible for that? It cannot happen that 26 people lose their lives and there is no progress. When we accept there was an intelligence failure, then someone has to take responsibility for that.”

Imran Nabi Dar, a spokesperson of Jammu and Kashmir’s ruling National Conference, called for Sinha to resign from his post.

“The next logical step for him should be to step down and apologise to the people of J&K whose lives, livelihood and dignity were put at stake due to his blunders,” Dar told The Wire on Monday.

Congress leader Pawan Khera said that the “much delayed acceptance of responsibility” by Sinha was “an insult to all those innocent tourists who lost their lives” in the attack. “Who is the LG protecting?” Khera asked on social media.

In response to the terror attack, India launched military strikes – codenamed Operation Sindoor – on what New Delhi claimed were terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

The Pakistan Army retaliated to Indian strikes by repeatedly shelling Indian villages along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. At least 22 Indian civilians and eight defence personnel were killed.

On May 10, India and Pakistan reached an “understanding” to halt firing following a four-day conflict.

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