Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given the armed forces ‘complete freedom to decide on the mode, targets, and timing’ of India’s military response to the Pahalgam terror attack, claiming 26 civilians lives, media reports said, citing sources on Tuesday night.
Amid escalating tension with Pakistan, PM Modi took the decision at a meeting with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, and Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan.
According to major Indian TV channels quoting sources, the Prime Minister reaffirmed that it is ‘our national resolve to deal a crushing blow to terrorism’ and that he has ‘complete faith and confidence’ in the Indian military.
Shortly after the meeting, Home Minister Amit Shah and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat reached the PM’s residence.
The PM’s message, sources explained, gives a green light to military action against the terrorists who killed 26 people in Pahalgam’s Baisaran, in the worst possible target on civilians since the Pulwama attack in February 2019.
After the Pulwama attack, India conducted precision air strikes on terrorist camps in Balakot in Pakistan. The camps were run by banned terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed with help from the Pak Army.
Pahalgam Attack
On April 22, the terrorists- belonging to The Resistance Front (TRF), which is an offshoot of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)- asked the victims (tourists) to chant Islamic verses (kalma) and made them pull down their pants to be sure of their their non-Muslim religious identities (read circumcision) before gunning them down before their families, including wives, children and daughters.
The massacre triggered nationwide outrage and escalated India-Pakistan tensions as New Delhi vowed to avenge the killings.
In an immediate response, India suspended the landmark Indus River water-sharing treaty and closed the Attari-Wagah road border, which acts as a lifeline of Indo-Pak trade and people-to-people ties, besides expelling diplomats, downsizing high commissions, and issuing a 48-hour deadline to Pakistani visa holders present in India to leave.
(With inputs from IBNS)
