India’s parliament descended into chaos Wednesday when opposition parties staged a dramatic walkout after Prime Minister Narendra Modi refused to attend a debate on military operations against Pakistan. As Home Minister Amit Shah rose to speak, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge declared Modi’s absence an “insult to the upper house,” noting the PM was in Parliament but deliberately avoided accountability for Operation Sindoor. The protest exposed deep fractures in India’s political establishment amid escalating tensions with Pakistan.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office swiftly dismissed Shah’s parliamentary address as “replete with fabrications,” condemning India’s “dangerous tendency to distort facts and glorify conflict” for domestic gain. Spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan highlighted India’s rejection of PM Shehbaz Sharif’s offer for a neutral probe into April’s Pahalgam attack, which killed 26 tourists with India choosing “belligerence over transparency”. Khan urged India to acknowledge its military losses and third-party mediation that forced May’s ceasefire, rather than “misleading its public”.
Shah’s speech touted Operations Sindoor and Mahadev as counterterrorism successes, claiming security forces killed three Pakistani Lashkar-e-Taiba commanders tied to Pahalgam. Yet opposition MPs and Kashmiri leaders questioned the timing, coinciding with parliament’s debate and absence of verifiable proof. Shah further ignited controversy by asserting “no Hindu can ever be a terrorist,” dismissing Congress-era investigations into right-wing extremism as “vote-bank politics”. Kashmir MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi countered: “After Pahalgam, 13 Kashmiri homes were blasted by Indian forces. When we demand justice, they call us terrorists”.
The walkout also spotlighted U.S. President Donald Trump’s boasts about brokering the India-Pakistan ceasefire. Opposition MPs demanded a resolution condemning Trump’s “interference,” with CPI(M) leader John Brittas noting Modi “laughed with Trump while facing U.S. tariffs”. Amid calls for transparency, Defense Ministry officials avoided parliamentary questions for weeks, prompting Samajwadi Party’s Javed Ali Khan to accuse them of “Operation Silence”. With Shah vowing to “reclaim Kashmir from Pakistan,” analysts warn such rhetoric risks reigniting conflict in a region where 60,000 have died since 2025.