Defence Minister Rajnath Singh meets with Prime Minister Narendra Modi

New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, the official residence of the PM on Monday.

This meeting comes a day after Chief of Defence Staff Anil Chauhan briefed the Defence Minister on the key decisions taken to counter Pakistan following the deadly Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir.

Today’s meeting also comes three days after the all-party meet held in Parliament premises on the Pahalgam terror attack, which the Defence Minister chaired.

The attack, which occurred on April 22, 26 individuals, mostly tourists, including one Nepalese national, were brutally gunned down. The incident happened around 2 pm at Baisaran meadow. It was one of the deadliest attacks in the region since the 2019 Pulwama strike, which claimed the lives of 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans.

Following the incident, NIA teams have been stationed at the site since April 23 and have intensified the search for evidence. Additionally, the Indian Army is on high alert, launching several search operations to neutralise the terrorists following the attack in Pahalgam.

On April 23, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) met to take steps regarding the attack, condemning it in the strongest terms and expressing their deepest condolences to the families of the victims and hoping for the speedy recovery of the injured.

In the briefing to the CCS, the cross-border linkages of the terrorist attack were brought out. It was noted that this attack came in the wake of the successful holding of elections in the Union Territory and its steady progress towards economic growth and development.

Since then, India has decided to withdraw its Defence, Navy, and Air Advisors from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. These posts in the respective High Commissions are deemed annulled. Five support staff of the Service Advisors will also be withdrawn from both High Commissions.
The overall strength of the high commissions will be reduced to 30 from the current 55 through further reductions, effective as of 1 May 2025.