New Delhi, April 25 : The CPI on Friday condemned the Pahalgam terror attack but cautioned the government against viewing terrorism as a communal or Hindu-Muslim issue.

Rajya Sabha member and CPI Parliamentary Party Leader P. Sandosh Kumar also gave a political twist to the all-party meeting held after the attack, alleging that the exercise was a lost opportunity to build national unity.

"Instead of fostering consensus, the meeting became a public relations exercise. The Prime Minister, as head of the government, should have attended, shared his views, and genuinely listened to others. Instead, he chose to speak at a political rally in Bihar."

The CPI also criticised the exclusion of several parties from the meeting on Thursday. Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC), the ruling party in J&K, and the CPI, which has consistently fought against extremism from Punjab to Manipur, were excluded on the grounds of not having five MPs.

"It appears that the Union government views terrorism as a communal and Hindu-Muslim issue, leading to selective invitations and exclusion of truly secular forces of unity, like the CPI,' said the RS member.

Criticising the allegedly selective invitation for the all-party meeting, the CPI leader said, 'Should states in the Northeast with less than five MPs be excluded from deliberations on terrorism? National interest cannot be held hostage to arithmetic."

He also complained that a party with a lone MP was invited to the all-party meeting, reportedly by the Home Minister himself.

'This shows the Union government's fractured understanding of the situation and terrorism. This flawed criterion defies logic," said Sandosh Kumar.

Asking the government to deal with terrorism with utmost seriousness and act decisively to isolate its sponsors, the CPI raised concerns about the security and intelligence lapses surrounding the Pahalgam attack in which 26 people were killed on April 22.

Reports suggest that at least two of the terrorists infiltrated Indian territory days before the incident. "How did heavily armed infiltrators remain undetected? How were nearly a thousand tourists allowed at a vulnerable site barely 100 km from Srinagar when heightened security and combing operations were underway ahead of the Prime Minister's now postponed visit on April 19?" asked Sandosh Kumar.

The CPI also condemned attempts by sections of the media to communalise the tragedy, leading to the killing of a young Muslim man in Agra.

"This is exactly what the terrorists want -- to divide India. The Union government and state governments must remain vigilant and act swiftly to prevent any communal provocations," he added.

/IANS