Pahalgam terror attack: Modi-led CCS reviews J&K security situation

The Cabinet Committee on Security CCS chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is understood to have deliberated on the overall security situation in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday amid speculations about Indiarsquos possible retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack in view of its cross border linkagesThe CCS meet was held at the prime ministerrsquos residence a day after Modi held a meeting with the top military brass and accorded operational freedom to the armed forces on the ldquomode targets and timingrdquo of Indiarsquos response to the April 22 attack that killed 26 people It was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Home Minister Amit Shah and EAM S Jaishankar people familiar with the matter saidIn the highlevel meeting with the defence brass on Tuesday Modi asserted that the armed forces have ldquocomplete operational freedomrdquo to decide on the mode targets and timing of Indias response government sources said The prime minister affirmed that it is ldquoour national resolverdquo to deal a crushing blow to terrorism government sources saidGovt revamps NSA BoardThe Centre on Wednesday revamped the National Security Advisory Board NSAB It is learnt that former RampAW chief Alok Joshi has been appointed as NSAB chairman The NSAB is an advisory body that provides inputs to the National Security Council SecretariatThe new members appointed to the NSAB are former Western Air Commander Air Marshal PM Sinha former Southern Army Commander Lt Gen A K Singh and Rear Admiral retd Monty Khanna people familiar with the matter saidFormer diplomat B Venkatesh Varma and retired IPS Rajiv Ranjan Verma have also been appointed to the NSAB as its members they saidUS urges deescalationState Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said that Washington is reaching out to India and Pakistan ldquoregarding the Kashmir situationrdquo and telling ldquothem not to escalate the situationrdquoSecretary of State Marco Rubio ldquoexpects to speak with the foreign ministers of Pakistan and India as early as today or tomorrow He is encouraging other national leaders and foreign ministers to reach out to the countries on this issuerdquo Bruce saidOn April 26 US President Donald Trump said that there have always been tensions between India and Pakistan and the two countries will figure it out between themselves ldquoone way or the otherrdquo Agencies786 Pakistanis leave 1465 Indians returnAs many as 786 Pakistani nationals including 55 diplomats their dependents and support staff besides eight Indians with Pakistani visa have left India through the AttariWagah border crossing in the last six days following a government order in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack officials said on WednesdayA total of 1465 Indians including 25 diplomats and officials besides 151 Pakistani citizens with longterm Indian visas have crossed over to India from Pakistan through the international border crossing located in Punjab since April 24 The lsquoLeave Indiarsquo notice to the Pakistani nationals was issued by the government following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attackThe deadline for exiting India for those holding SAARC visas was April 26 For those carrying medical visas the deadline was April 29 The deadline for 12 other categories of visas was April 27Those having longterm diplomatic or official visas have been exempted from the lsquoLeave Indiarsquo orderThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoeveratOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params