- NEW DELHI — Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation at 8 p.m. on
Monday, said an official source, hinting at ‘Operation Sindoor’ being the
likely focus of his speech.
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- Earlier in the day, PM Modi chaired a high-level meeting
with top government functionaries, including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh,
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, and NSA Ajit Doval.
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- India also reiterated that 'Operation Sindoor' was a
targeted response against terrorism and its support infrastructure, lamenting
that Pakistan chose to stand with terrorists rather than remain neutral,
prompting a necessary military retaliation.
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- "We have also reiterated that our fight was against
terrorism and their support infrastructure and not with the Pakistan military.
However, it is a pity that the Pakistani military chose to intervene and that,
too, for terrorists, which compelled us to respond," said Air Marshal A.K.
Bharti, Director General Air Operations, during a joint DGMO Press briefing.
Also read: Security forces maintain high vigil as calm prevails on LoC, international border
- He clarified that India's strikes on May 7 targeted only
terrorist hideouts, but Pakistan's direct military support to the terrorists
turned the situation into an unavoidable confrontation.
- Earlier, the meeting that took place at the Prime
Minister’s residence in the national Capital was attended by Defence Minister
Rajnath Singh, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan and all three
service chiefs - General Upendra Dwivedi, Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi and Air
Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh.
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- Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, Intelligence Bureau (IB)
Director Tapan Deka, and Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) chief Ravi
Sinha were also in the meeting.
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- The high-level meeting came two days after India and
Pakistan arrived at an understanding for a ceasefire. The ceasefire was sought
by Pakistan after facing massive airstrikes by the Indian Air Force that
destroyed 11 of its airbases.
