Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday morning briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the security measures being taken following the deadly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam. National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval was also present during the meeting at the Prime Minister’s residence, 7 Lok Kalyan Marg. The high-level review comes a day after Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan briefed the Defence Minister on critical military decisions to counter Pakistan following the attack. Singh had also chaired an all-party meeting three days ago to discuss the security situation in the region.
Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence is scheduled to meet on Monday afternoon at 3 pm at the Parliament House Annexe. The meeting is expected to further review preparedness and the government's response to the situation.
The April 22 attack at the Baisaran meadow near Pahalgam left 26 people, including a Nepalese national, dead — mostly tourists who were brutally gunned down around 2 pm. It is considered the deadliest attack in the region since the 2019 Pulwama terror strike, which had claimed the lives of 40 CRPF personnel.
Since the attack, teams from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) have been stationed in Pahalgam, intensifying evidence collection and investigations. The Indian Army remains on high alert, launching extensive search operations to neutralise the terrorists behind the assault.
On April 23, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by Prime Minister Modi, held an emergency meeting, strongly condemning the attack and expressing condolences to the victims’ families. The CCS noted the cross-border linkages to the attack and pointed out that it came amid successful elections and growing development in Jammu and Kashmir.
In a related move, India has also banned 16 Pakistani YouTube channels, accusing them of spreading misinformation and provocative content targeting India’s security agencies, following the Pahalgam attack. Collectively, these channels had over 63 million subscribers.
(With agency inputs)
