PM Modi and CCS members (File/PTI)
NEW DELHI: The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, met on Wednesday amid speculations about India’s possible retaliation to the Pahalgam terrorist attack in view of its cross-border linkages.
The CCS, which met at the Prime Minister’s Lok Kalyan Marg residence in New Delhi, is understood to have deliberated on the overall security situation in Jammu and Kashmir following the April 22 Pahalgam terrorist attack, according to news agency PTI.
As many as 26 male tourists were gunned down by Pakistan-backed terrorists in Pahalgam.
The PM-led top national security body met a day after his meeting with the country’s top military brass, and accorded “operational freedom” to the armed forces on the “mode, targets and timing” of their response to the attack. The CCS meeting was attended by defence minister Rajnath Singh, home minister Amit Shah and external affairs minister S Jaishankar, people familiar with the matter said.
Poll
Do you believe that granting operational freedom to the armed forces is a wise decision?
It was the second meeting of the CCS on the Pahalgam attack.
In the first one, on April 23, it decided a raft of punitive measures against Pakistan, including suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, shutting down of the only operational India-Pakistan land border crossing at Attari, and downgrading of diplomatic ties in view of cross-border links to the attack.
In response, Pakistan shut its airspace to Indian airliners and suspended all trade with India, including through third countries. Pakistan rejected India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty and said any move to stop the flow of water would be seen as an “act of war”.
In the high-level meeting with the defence brass on Tuesday, PM Modi reportedly asserted that the armed forces have “complete operational freedom” to decide on the mode, targets and timing of India’s response.
The prime minister also reportedly affirmed that it is India’s “national resolve” to deal a “crushing blow” to terrorism, and expressed “complete faith and confidence” in the abilities of the Indian armed forces.
That meeting was attended by defence minister Rajnath Singh, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan and the three service chiefs.
