On December 13, 2001, five heavily-armed terrorists belonging to the terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) infiltrated the Indian Parliament complex in New Delhi.
The terrorist attack took place around 40 minutes after Parliament was adjourned and about 100 members were present in the building.
The terrorists opened fire indiscriminately, killing nine people — six Delhi Police personnel, two Parliament security personnel, and a gardener.
The terrorist attack took place around 40 minutes after Parliament was adjourned and about 100 members were present in the building.
The terrorists opened fire indiscriminately, killing nine people — six Delhi Police personnel, two Parliament security personnel, and a gardener.
All five terrorists involved in the attack were killed. It is believed that the attackers infiltrated the Parliament House in a car with fake Home Ministry and Parliament stickers on the vehicle they drove, easily breaching the security checks.
It was reported that they were carrying AK47 rifles, grenade launchers, pistols, and grenades.
The attack led to heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, bringing the South Asian nations to the brink of war.
World leaders, including Pakistan and other neighboring countries, strongly condemned the attack on the parliament.
“It is now evident that the terrorist assault on the Parliament House was executed jointly by Pakistan-based and supported terrorist outfits, namely, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad,” said LK Advani, then Home Minister, in Lok Sabha.
He added, “These two organizations are known to derive their support and patronage from Pak ISI. The investigation so far carried out by the police shows that all the five terrorists who formed the suicide squad were Pakistani nationals. All of them were killed on the spot and their Indian associates have since been nabbed and arrested.”
In this file photo, former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee can be seen paying floral tributes in front of the portraits of security personnel killed during the attack.
It was later reported that Vajpayee, who passed away in 2018, wanted to hit terrorist camps after the terror attack but the plans were dropped.
In a book by former navy chief Admiral Sushil Kumar, it was claimed that Vajpayee sought a Balakot-type airstrike.
Nothing official was ever claimed in this regard.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday (December 13, 2021) paid tributes to security personnel who made the supreme sacrifice while fighting terrorists.
“I pay my tributes to all those security personnel who were martyred in the line of duty during the Parliament attack in 2001. Their service to the nation and supreme sacrifice continues to inspire every citizen,” Modi tweeted.
