Thane (Maharashtra) [India], April 30 (ANI): As the country mourns the loss of 26 people killed in the Pahalgam terrorist attack, senior Nationalist Congress Party (SP) leader Jayant Patil on Wednesday said that it must be remembered that the 'fight' was against Pakistan and not against common people in India.

'There is no need to bring religion and caste into this,' Patil asserted while talking to ANI.

He said that the people in the country need to come together to teach Pakistan a lesson, and for that, the opposition leaders have extended full support to the government's decisions.

'The countrymen need to come together to give a reply to this attack and to teach Pakistan a lesson. We need to remember that our fight is against Pakistan, not against the common man in the country (India). The opposition leaders have said that they will support the government's decision. The Modi government should take action to teach Pakistan a lesson,' Patil said.

Meanwhile, NCP SP chief Sharad Pawar defended his 'giving religious angle harmful' remarks regarding the deadly Pahalgam terrorist attack and said that his statement was interpreted in a 'wrong way'.

He also advocated the call for a special assembly session in Maharashtra to discuss the terror attack, which left 26 people dead and injured many.

'My statement on the terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir was shown in the wrong way. I had said that the terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir should not be given a Hindu-Muslim communal colour. It is an attack on our country, and the central government should take strict action against the terrorists,' Pawar told reporters in a news conference here.

Earlier, the Indian National Congress called for a special parliamentary session to address the April 22 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, which claimed 26 innocent lives.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday urged the government to convene a special session of both Houses of Parliament in response to the attack.

The request comes amid increased political focus on national security and responses to terrorism, amidst outrage and mourning following the terror attack on April 22.

Earlier on Monday, the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly held a special session condemning the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam. During the session, a resolution was adopted expressing strong disapproval of the attack and extending solidarity to the victims and their families.

The attack in Pahalgam is one of the deadliest attacks in the Valley since the 2019 Pulwama strike, in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed. Following the Pahalgam terror attack, India has taken strong measures against Pakistan for its support of cross-border terrorism. (ANI)