Chief of Defence Staff meets Rajnath, apprises him of current situation
As military confrontation between India and Pakistan continued to escalate, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday and apprised him of the current situation, sources said.
“The CDS met the defence minister at the latter’s residence this morning, during which he apprised him of the current situation,” a source said.
India on Friday said Pakistan launched between 300 and 400 Turkish drones across 36 locations from Leh to Sir Creek in its failed attempt to target Indian military installations on Thursday night.
On Saturday morning, the Indian Army said, “Pakistan’s blatant escalation with drone strikes and other munitions continues along our western borders.”
The military confrontation between the two nuclear-armed neighbours escalated in the past few days with both the military and civil authorities in India remaining on high alert.
Rajnath Singh on Friday took a comprehensive review of the security scenario with the top military leadership, a day after Pakistan’s attempts to target Indian military installations were repelled.
Every aspect of the evolving security situation was discussed at the meeting, it was learnt.
The meeting was attended by Chief of Defence Staff Gen Chauhan, Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi, IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal A P Singh, Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi and Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh.
As the two countries continued to attack each other’s military facilities, it dangerously escalated the ongoing conflict.
On Saturday morning, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi at a press briefing along with Wing Commander Vyomika Singh and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said, “The Pakistan military is observed to be moving their troops to the border areas.”
Pakistan, she said, launched a high-speed missile in Punjab besides attacking medical facilities in Srinagar, Avantipura and Udhampur.
“A befitting reply has been given to Pakistani actions,” Col Qureshi said.
On Thursday afternoon, the defence ministry said Indian armed forces foiled Pakistan’s attempts to target military installations in 15 cities in the northern and western parts of the country using missiles and drones.
It said the Pakistani military attempted to target Awantipura, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bhatinda, Chandigarh, Nal, Phalodi, Uttarlai, and Bhuj.
Rajnath Singh on Thursday said no limit will become an obstacle to protect India’s sovereignty and the nation is fully prepared for such responses.
Tensions between India and Pakistan flared up significantly after the Indian armed forces early Wednesday conducted precision strikes targeting nine terror launchpads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in response to the April 22 Pahalgam attack that had cross-border linkages.
