Pahalgam terror attack: Armed forces have 'full operational freedom'

Sources say PM said this at high-level meet attended by the three services chiefs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday told a high-level meeting attended by the country’ three services chiefs that the armed forces have “complete operational freedom” to decide on the mode, targets and timing of India's response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 25 tourists and one local.

 

Apart from the three services chiefs, the meeting in the evening, which was chaired by the PM, was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, and Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan.

 

The Union Cabinet is scheduled to meet at 11am on Wednesday, its first meeting after the Pahalgam attack. The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) had met on April 23 after which India announced its five-pronged response to the terror attack, including suspending the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).

 

 

At Tuesday evening’s meeting, the PM said it is the national resolve to deal a crushing blow to terrorism, government sources said. Modi expressed complete faith and confidence in the professional abilities of the armed forces. “They have complete operational freedom to decide on the mode, targets and timing of our response,” a source quoted Modi as saying. In his first comments on the terror attack at his public address in Bihar’s Madhubani on Thursday, the PM had said that India will pursue the terrorists behind the attack and their patrons to the "ends of earth" and inflict the harshest punishment on them "beyond their imagination". India has identified cross-border linkages to the terror attack, and said it has suspended IWT until Pakistan abjures sponsoring terrorism.

 

Earlier in the day, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan had chaired a high-level meeting, which was attended by chiefs of three paramilitary forces and senior officers of two other security organisations, sources said. There was no official word on its agenda.

 

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar discussed the Pahalgam terror attack with his counterparts from Slovenia, Panama, Algeria and Guyana during separate phone conversations.

 

Jaishankar is understood to have conveyed to the foreign ministers India's policy on "zero tolerance" towards terrorism.

 

"A warm conversation with FM Hugh Hilton Todd of Guyana today. Discussed the Pahalgam terrorist attack and the need to combat terrorism in all forms and manifestations," the EAM said on “X”.

 

In a related development, the Congress on Tuesday made public letters that party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi have written to the PM, asking him to convene a special session of Parliament to discuss the Pahalgam terror attack and demonstrate a collective resolve. In the letter to the PM, Kharge said: “At this moment, when unity and solidarity is essential, the Opposition believes that it is important to convene a special session of both Houses of Parliament at the earliest. This will be a powerful demonstration of our collective resolve and willpower to deal with the brutal terror attack in Pahalgam.”

 

Sharing his letter to the PM on X, Gandhi said, "At this critical time, India must show that we always stand together against terrorism.”

 

Congress General Secretary In-Charge of Communications Jairam Ramesh said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that its executive board is meeting on May 9 to consider Pakistan's request for a new $1.3 billion loan, and said that he expects India to strongly oppose this assistance. Ramesh shared the screenshot of the IMF executive board calendar, which showed that it will meet on May 9 to discuss the "first review under the extended arrangement under the extended fund facility, request for modification of performance criteria, and request for an arrangement under the resilience and sustainability facility".

 

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sources said the Congress demand is driven with the intent to score political points. The BJP also slammed a pictorial post by the Congress attempting to portray the PM as a leader missing in action. The image posted on X by the Congress without naming Modi showed an old photo of him with his head missing. The image carried the message “Gayab” (missing) on top, with a caption in Hindi that read "jimmedari ke samay -- gayab" (missing at the time of taking responsibility).

 

BJP National Spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia claimed the post was intended to send out a message to Pakistan that the Congress was with them at this time of crisis, as he called the Opposition party "Lashkar-e-Pakistan Congress". He also alleged that the Congress posted the image on X at the behest of party leader Rahul Gandhi.

 

At the United Nations (UN), India said that the open confession of Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif admitting to his country's history of supporting and funding terrorist organisations exposes Pakistan as a “rogue state” fuelling global terrorism and destabilising the region. India's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Yojna Patel said this in her Right of Reply at the hybrid launch event for the “Victims of Terrorism Association Network” (VoTAN) of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism when Pakistan's delegate made a reference to the Pahalgam terror attack. “It is unfortunate that one particular delegation has chosen to misuse and undermine this forum to indulge in propaganda and make baseless allegations against India," Patel said.

 

"The whole world has heard the Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif admitting and confessing Pakistan's history of supporting, training and funding terrorist organisations in a recent television interview,” she said.

 

Patel said that “this open confession surprises no one and exposes Pakistan as a rogue state fuelling global terrorism and destabilising the region. The world can no longer turn a blind eye. I have nothing further to add,” she concluded.

 

China on Tuesday reiterated its call for India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, saying their harmonious coexistence is vital to the peace, stability and development of the region.

 

(With PTI inputs)