India, April 24 -- The Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Thursday condemned the "cowardly and calculated act of terror mastermind by Pakistan" in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on Tuesday, and said it "is a direct assault on the values of our Republic".

During a special meeting convened by the Congress top brass, the primary opposition party of India maintained that "the deliberate targeting of Hindus was done to heighten sentiments across the country".

Twenty-six people were killed, and several others were injured in the attack carried out by The Resistance Front terror group, a proxy organisation of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba.

"This cowardly and calculated act of terror, mastermind by Pakistan, is a direct assault on the valu...