Will Give Befitting Reply: Rajnath
NEW DELHI: Amid rising tensions with Pakistan following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence on Sunday. The hour-long discussion, coming a day after Modi’s meeting with Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi, underscored India’s heightened military readiness.
Later in the day, defence minister Rajnath Singh, speaking at the Sanatan Sanskriti Jagran Mahotsav, pledged decisive retaliation against those responsible for the Pahalgam strike. “As defence minister, it is my duty to work with our soldiers and deliver a befitting reply to anyone who casts an evil eye on India,” he said. Singh added that under Prime Minister Modi’s risk-taking leadership, “what you desire will certainly happen.”
On the procurement front, the Indian Army has taken delivery of additional Russian-origin Igla-S shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles under emergency powers granted by the Centre. These systems are being deployed with forward formations to counter potential threats from fighter aircraft, helicopters and drones along the borders.
On Tuesday, in a high-level review with India’s top military brass, Modi granted the armed forces “complete operational freedom” to determine the targets, timing and methods of any response. Since then, the Indian Air Force has been placed on high alert, and the Navy has conducted aggressive exercises in the Arabian Sea to demonstrate its preparedness.
In parallel with military measures, New Delhi has imposed sweeping punitive actions against Pakistan: it suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, shut the Attari land border crossing, downgraded diplomatic ties, banned all imports from Pakistan on national security grounds, halted postal services, and barred Pakistani-flagged ships from Indian ports.
