- 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.
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- On Sunday, PM Modi gave clear directions to the Armed
Forces to respond to cross-border firing and shelling with full force during a
similar high-level meeting.
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- The tensions rose after Pakistan-supported terrorists
killed 26 people in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22. India avenged the
deaths by carrying out airstrikes on nine terror bases in Pakistan on May 7, in
which more than 100 terrorists were killed.
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- In retaliation, the Pakistani Army launched drones and
missiles at western parts of India, which were successfully intercepted by the
Indian armed forces. Following the drone raid, the IAF carried out a massive
90-minute operation in which 11 airbases were struck. Most of these airbases
are vital for Pakistan.
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- A rattled Pakistan then sought de-escalation. On the advice
of the US, India reached an understanding with Pakistan on a ceasefire on
Saturday afternoon. The understanding was to halt military actions with
immediate effect, which came after four days of intense cross-border drone and
missile strikes.
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- Following the de-escalation, no adverse incident was
reported during the Sunday-Monday night in Jammu and Kashmir and the rest of
the western border. The authorities have also decided to reopen 32 airports
that were shut for civil flight operations following the tension.
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