India-Pakistan tension: PM Modi chairs high-level meeting with top defence officials

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday held a meeting with defence minister Rajnath Singh, external affairs minister S Jaishankar, and tri-services chiefs at his 7, Lok Kalyan Marg residence in New Delhi. This gathering came a day after India and Pakistan announced the ceasefire.In the meeting, national security advisor Ajit Doval and chief of defence staff General Anil Chauhan were also present.A day earlier, both the countries reached to an agreement for ceasefire but after few hours, India accused Pakistan of violating the terms of the understanding on Saturday night and asked it to take "appropriate steps" to address these violations and deal with the situation with "seriousness and responsibility".But after few hours, the situation cooled down even though residents in several border areas continue to live in a state of fear following days of shelling and drone incidents.It all started with the deadly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22 which killed 26 tourists including 25 Indians and one Nepalese. Responding to the terror attack, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting nine terror facilities in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).Pakistan responded with drone attacks targeting areas in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Gujarat. These attacks were intercepted by Indian defence systems but raised fears of a broader conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.