Mehbooba Mufti welcomes BRICS condemnation of Pahalgam terror attack, but calls out ‘selective outrage’

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Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti. File | Photo Credit: PTI

Amid the ongoing BRICS Summit in New Delhi, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday (September 12, 2026) welcomed the world leaders’ condemnation of the Pahalgam terror attack. However, she questioned the failure of India to push for a stronger and more comprehensive position against violence and civilian suffering across the world.

“India, as the chair of BRICS, should also have demonstrated courage and true leadership by ensuring that the collective statement unequivocally addressed the devastation in Gaza and the US-Israeli military action against Iran,” Ms. Mufti said.

Ms. Mufti said the suffering of civilians in Pahalgam, Gaza or Iran cannot be viewed through different moral or political lenses. “The same standard must apply to every human life. The credibility of multilateral institutions depends on their ability to uphold this principle without fear or favour,” she added.

Ms. Mufti said terrorism cannot be condemned selectively. “Civilian blood has no nationality, and international justice cannot have double standards. The principle of condemning attacks on civilians must remain universal and cannot depend on the nationality, religion or geopolitical alignment of those affected,” she said.

She said if the international community was serious about ending terrorism and protecting civilians, “there could be no hierarchy of victims and no selective outrage”.

Further, Ms. Mufti welcomed the BRICS call for humanitarian assistance to Gaza. “Humanitarian relief alone cannot substitute for accountability and an end to the violence. The declaration’s position on Gaza includes support for humanitarian assistance, while its broader West Asia language calls for restraint, civilian protection and adherence to the UN Charter,” she added.

She said that India’s leadership of BRICS offered an important opportunity to strengthen the voice of the Global South by advocating a consistent, rules-based international order in which terrorism, attacks on civilians and violations of international law are condemned irrespective of who commits them.

“India should lead by example. If civilian blood has no nationality, then justice cannot have double standards either,” she added.

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