Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to chair a crucial meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) in the first half of the day, where India’s counter-response and defence strategy will be discussed following the horrific terror attack in Pahalgam. The attack left at least 28 people dead and 10 others injured.
Earlier in the day, PM Modi held a high-level meeting with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar shortly after returning from Saudi Arabia. Following a telephonic briefing with the Prime Minister, Union Home Minister Amit Shah reached Srinagar late Tuesday night. Shah chaired an emergency security review meeting with Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and is expected to visit Pahalgam later today.
Tourists Targeted in Terror Strike
According to a senior police official quoted by The Indian Express, two to three militants opened fire on a group of tourists at Baisaran, a picturesque off-road meadow in Pahalgam. Several of the injured were rushed to a nearby hospital, and some are reported to be in critical condition. This marks the first militant attack on tourists this year. The last such incident occurred in May of the previous year, also in Pahalgam, when two tourists were injured.
The terror strike has triggered widespread outrage and heightened security across the Jammu region. The area has been placed on high alert. Protests erupted in several locations on Tuesday. In Doda town, demonstrators gathered late at night, burning effigies in anger. Meanwhile, the Kishtwar unit of the Sanatan Dharam Sabha has called for a bandh on Wednesday to condemn the attack.
In Jammu city’s Gujjar Nagar area, members of the Muslim community also took to the streets, raising slogans against Pakistan and expressing solidarity with the victims.
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