India-Pakistan news: PM Modi chairs high-level meeting with top ministers, chiefs of Army, Navy and IAF
Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired another round of high-level meetings with the chiefs of the armed forces, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday. National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval was also present at the meeting.
The meeting was held hours before Monday's scheduled meeting between the Director General Military Operations (DGMO) of India and Pakistan.
During a press conference on Sunday, Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai said that soon after a 'bilateral understanding' was reached between India and Pakistan on May 10, the DMGOs of the two countries had decided to 'further speak on the 12th of May… at 1200 hours to discuss the modalities that will enable the longevity of this understanding.'
Earlier on Saturday (May 10), Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri confirmed that Pakistan's DGMO contacted his Indian counterpart. The two sides had then reached a 'bilateral understanding', agreeing to halt all military actions, on land, at sea, and in the air, effective from 5 pm on May 10.
However, hours after the announcement, India accused Pakistan of violating the cessation of hostilities. India's air defence had then intercepted Pakistani drones amid a blackout in Srinagar.
The escalation of conflict between India and Pakistan came after the Indian Armed Forces launched 'precision strikes' under Operation Sindoor on May 7. Under the Operation, the armed forces destroyed nine major terror camps associated with the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Hizbul Mujahideen in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Operation Sindoor was launched in retaliation for the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which resulted in the deaths of 26 civilians, including one Nepali national.
PM Modi has been chairing regular meetings with the top government functionaries involved in the country's military and diplomatic response to the Pahalgam terror attack.
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