India-Pakistan Tensions Escalate: PM Holds High-Level Security Meet for Second Time

Amid heightened tensions with Pakistan following the deadly terror attack in Pahalgam, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is chairing the second meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) at his residence. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah are in attendance. The CCS is India's top decision-making body on national security issues.

Later in the day, the Prime Minister is also scheduled to chair a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA), often dubbed the "super cabinet" due to its significant influence on political and economic policy matters.

These developments come a day after a high-level review meeting was held at the Prime Minister's residence, nearly a week after 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed in a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam.

According to government sources cited by India Today TV, during Tuesday's meeting, PM Modi gave the Indian Armed Forces "complete operational freedom" to respond to the attack.

The CCPA has historically met during crucial national crises. In February 2019, following the Pulwama terror attack, the committee convened to review the security situation. That meeting was followed by the Indian Air Force's Balakot air strikes inside Pakistan on February 26, 2019.

The current CCPA includes key cabinet ministers such as Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, and is chaired by PM Modi.

This morning's CCS meeting marks the second such gathering since the Pahalgam incident. The first CCS meeting, held a day after the attack, saw India announce a range of retaliatory measures against Pakistan. These included a diplomatic downgrade, closure of key border routes, suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, and the expulsion of Pakistani military officials from their High Commission in New Delhi.