NSA Doval briefs PM Modi

New Delhi, May 6: National Security Advisor Ajit Doval met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday for the second time in the past 48 hours, amid escalating tensions with Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, which claimed 26 lives.

The back-to-back high-level consultations come just ahead of the nationwide mock security drills to be conducted on Wednesday, the first such exercise since the 1971 war, under the Home Ministry's directive to bolster civil defence preparedness in the event of a hostile attack.

Over the past few days, the PM has convened multiple meetings with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, NSA Doval, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, and the chiefs of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, significantly intensifying discussions around a military response to the Pahalgam incident.

In a crucial meeting last week, the PM granted the Indian armed forces full operational freedom to determine the nature, targets, and timing of India’s military response.

Further reinforcing India's preparedness, Air Chief Marshal A P Singh met PM Modi at his 7, Lok Kalyan Marg residence on Sunday.

The high-level meeting, which lasted for 45 minutes, was the second such engagement between the Prime Minister and the military leadership within 24 hours.

A day earlier, the PM had held detailed discussions with Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, Chief of the Naval Staff.

India has initiated a series of strong diplomatic and strategic countermeasures.

These include revoking visas for Pakistani nationals, halting cultural and trade exchanges, deporting Pakistani citizens from Indian soil, and suspending the 65-year-old Indus Waters Treaty.

India has also closed the Attari-Wagah border crossing and shut its airspace to Pakistani commercial aircraft.

PM Modi, in his first public remarks following the Pahalgam tragedy, said, “The terrorists, their handlers, and their backers will be chased and hunted down to the ends of the earth.”