After India carried out strikes on terror camps across LoC, PM Modi met with top ministers.
Highlights
- PM held meeting with top ministers, Ajit Doval and other officials
- India reportedly hit terror camps over LoC days after Pulwama attack
- Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley at meet
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with his top ministers in the cabinet committee on security at his home in Delhi after India carried out pre-dawn air strikes on terror camps across the Line of Control on Tuesday.
Twelve Mirage 2000 fighter jets of the Indian Air Force crossed the Line of Control around 3:30 am and dropped 1,000 kg laser-guided bombs on terror camps of the Jaish-e-Mohammed, completely destroying them, news agency ANI reported quoting Air Force sources. India, in "non-military, pre-emptive air strikes" struck the biggest camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammed and a large number of terrorists were eliminated, said Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale.
Sources say the Prime Minister was briefed on the operation, what was achieved and the situation. Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj were at the meeting, apart from National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and other officials.
PM Modi has briefed both President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu about the action.
Sources told NDTV that the strikes were "100 per cent successful" and went on "exactly as planned". Reports said Indian fighter jets have destroyed terror launch pads and a control room of the Jaish.
The operation has drawn strong political support across the board.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi tweeted, "I salute the pilots of the IAF".
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the chief of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), wrote in his tweet: "I salute the bravery of Indian Air Force pilots who have made us proud...".
India carried out the operation two weeks after 40 soldiers were killed in a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama. A suicide bomber of the Jaish-e-Mohammed exploded a car full of bombs next to a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy.
The Jaish-e-Mohammed, which is led by Masood Azhar, had claimed responsibility for the February 14 attack.
Soon after the Pulwama terror attack, India had appealed to the international community to back the naming of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a "UN designated terrorist". India also cancelled trade privileges given to Pakistan and launched efforts for its diplomatic isolation.