New Delhi: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney finally condemned the terror attack at Kashmir’s Pahalgam, nearly 30 hours after the news first broke, being the last leader of the G7 (Group of Seven) Western economies to do so.
“I am horrified by the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir, a senseless and shocking act of violence that has killed and injured innocent civilians and tourists. Canada strongly condemns this terrorist attack. We offer our condolences to the victims and their families,” Carney wrote in a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
The condemnation from Carney came late Wednesday evening. The other leaders of the G7, such as Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, the European Union’s Ursula von der Leyen, Germany’s Olaf Scholz, the UK’s Keir Starmer, US’ Donald Trump, France’s Emmanuel Macron and Japan’s Shigeru Ishiba, had conveyed their condolences late Tuesday evening. Some of the leaders also called Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, or sent personal letters before Carney’s first public condemnation of the attack.
The terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s iconic tourist site, Pahalgam, left at least 25 Indian nationals and one foreign national dead. At least four terrorists, carrying AK47 rifles, sprayed bullets at the visiting tourists, as previously reported by ThePrint.
Late Wednesday evening, the Indian government announced a number of diplomatic measures against Pakistan after the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) met. It was the first time that New Delhi publicly confirmed cross-border linkages to the terror attack.
Carney’s message comes as ties between India and Canada remain at its nadir, following former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s public proclamation of “credible allegations” between Indian government officials and the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen. Nijjar, an India-designated terrorist, was gunned down outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia in June 2023. Trudeau had made the public announcement in September 2023.
Throughout 2024, the tensions between New Delhi and Ottawa continued to simmer, culminating in the withdrawal of India’s High Commissioner from the country, along with five other diplomats, and the expulsion of six Canadian diplomats from New Delhi. India rejected the allegations emanating from Ottawa as “absurd and motivated”.
Senior officials in Trudeau’s government leaked information regarding the investigations into Nijjar’s killing to certain Western media outlets, in an effort to add further pressure for the Government of India to react to the situation.
Carney was elected by the Liberal Party faithful to take on the reins of government and the party, following Trudeau’s resignation in January this year. The former Bank of Canada and Bank of England Governor called for a snap general election, which is to be held on 28 April.
The Leader of the Official Opposition in Canada, Pierre Poilievre, also condemned the terrorist attack Wednesday. Poilievre, who is running against Carney in the general election, condemned “in the strongest terms the horrific terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir that took the lives of innocent civilians, including tourists and families”.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
Also Read: How world leaders reacted to Pahalgam terror attack