Pahalgam attack: High-level security, Cabinet meetings underway; key decisions likely
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is chairing key meetings of the Union Cabinet and the Cabinet Committee on Security at his residence here on Wednesday.
The meetings commenced at 11 am and are likely to go on for a while, with major decisions on further retaliatory measures against Pakistan post the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack likely.
The CCS meeting is being attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
It also includes National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Union Cabinet Secretary TV Somanathan, Principal Secretaries to the PM, PK Mishra and Shanktikanta Das.
The CCS is expected to review the progress of retaliatory measures announced against Pakistan on April 23, including revocation of visas to Pakistani nationals and suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty.
The CCS will also give a final stamp of approval for calibrated military action a day after PM Modi gave Indian Armed Forces full operational freedom to decide on the mode, target and timing of their action to the national military response after the killing of 26 people in South Kashmir’s Pahalgam.
Further, CCS will be briefed on the current status of NIA investigations into the attack with the role of former Pakistan Army para commander Hashim Musa clearly established— linking Pakistan to the dastardly attack — and the role of several locals emerging too.
India is also likely to mull the course of further diplomatic action to get Pakistan declared a state sponsor of terrorism.
On Tuesday, India cited the remarks of Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, calling his confession unsurprising and stating that it clearly demonstrates Pakistan’s role as a rogue state fuelling global terrorism, adding that the world can no longer turn a blind eye to it.
A full scale of discussions on possible countermeasures — from military and economic to diplomatic — will come up for discussions at the CCS, it is learnt.
The Union Cabinet may also take a call on the schedule for a special session of Parliament in the wake of the Pahalgam attack.
India