After the anger died down, BJP government officials sat down to mull over their options , after the militant strike on Indian Army soldiers in Uri. Sources within the BJP on Monday said that India was against any knee-jerk reactions and they were weighing all options for a calibrated response.
Earlier in the day, the government had gone into a huddle with back-to-back high level meetings to decide the appropriate response to the attack. First, Home Minister Rajnath Singh conveyed a high-level meeting with top officials to review possible responses that the country could afford to go in for.
Within 15 minutes of this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi steered a meeting with his senior cabinet colleagues. Those in attendance were Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Army chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag. External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj’s absence, however, raised eyebrows.
Sources said that the 90-minute long meeting distilled options, before it was decided that the government would unleash a diplomatic blitzkrieg against Pakistan. Sources said the meeting also confirmed to the government Pakistan’s involvement in the attack. They said that Army officials had showed ministers that the terrorists had used “incendiary” ammunition, found only within army establishments.
Meanwhile, India in its right to reply at the 33rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva asked Pakistan to stop supporting terrorism and vacate illegal occupation of Pak-occupied Kashmir as it highlighted rights violations in Balochistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh and persecution of minorities including Hindus.
Sources also added that Prime Minister Modi appeared visibly upset and was in an aggressive mood at the meeting. He directed Army chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag and other security and investigative agencies to quickly collect all evidence that showed Pakistan’s complicity in the Uri attack. He then directed that the attack needed to be presented in all fora, including the upcoming United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
Modi reportedly also warned ministers and all those present not to speak on the outcome of the review meeting since India’s strategic steps should not be made public.
The PM is also believed to have pulled up Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar for his weekend visits to his home state Goa. Sources said that the PM asked Parrikar on Sunday to devote his time to the recent developments on the border and added that it was after Modi’s phone call that Parrikar rushed back to Delhi and flew to Uri.
Parrikar, a former Goa chief minister, visits the state almost every week, addressing meetings and dropping hints that the upcoming Assembly elections early next year will be fought under his leadership.
Asked as to why the defence minister and not the home minister visited Uri post the attack, an official said: “If it is an internal terror strike, then, of course, the home minister will be fully in charge. But Uri concerns the border and a possible build-up by the infiltrators. That falls within the defence minister’s arena.”
On Monday evening, PM Modi met President Pranab Mukherjee and briefed him on the developments related to the Uri terror attack. The meeting is considered significant as the President is the Supreme Commander and has to be taken into confidence before any major decision can be taken.
DNA India News
Earlier in the day, the government had gone into a huddle with back-to-back high level meetings to decide the appropriate response to the attack. First, Home Minister Rajnath Singh conveyed a high-level meeting with top officials to review possible responses that the country could afford to go in for.
Within 15 minutes of this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi steered a meeting with his senior cabinet colleagues. Those in attendance were Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Army chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag. External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj’s absence, however, raised eyebrows.
Sources said that the 90-minute long meeting distilled options, before it was decided that the government would unleash a diplomatic blitzkrieg against Pakistan. Sources said the meeting also confirmed to the government Pakistan’s involvement in the attack. They said that Army officials had showed ministers that the terrorists had used “incendiary” ammunition, found only within army establishments.
Meanwhile, India in its right to reply at the 33rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva asked Pakistan to stop supporting terrorism and vacate illegal occupation of Pak-occupied Kashmir as it highlighted rights violations in Balochistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh and persecution of minorities including Hindus.
Sources also added that Prime Minister Modi appeared visibly upset and was in an aggressive mood at the meeting. He directed Army chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag and other security and investigative agencies to quickly collect all evidence that showed Pakistan’s complicity in the Uri attack. He then directed that the attack needed to be presented in all fora, including the upcoming United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
Modi reportedly also warned ministers and all those present not to speak on the outcome of the review meeting since India’s strategic steps should not be made public.
The PM is also believed to have pulled up Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar for his weekend visits to his home state Goa. Sources said that the PM asked Parrikar on Sunday to devote his time to the recent developments on the border and added that it was after Modi’s phone call that Parrikar rushed back to Delhi and flew to Uri.
Parrikar, a former Goa chief minister, visits the state almost every week, addressing meetings and dropping hints that the upcoming Assembly elections early next year will be fought under his leadership.
Asked as to why the defence minister and not the home minister visited Uri post the attack, an official said: “If it is an internal terror strike, then, of course, the home minister will be fully in charge. But Uri concerns the border and a possible build-up by the infiltrators. That falls within the defence minister’s arena.”
On Monday evening, PM Modi met President Pranab Mukherjee and briefed him on the developments related to the Uri terror attack. The meeting is considered significant as the President is the Supreme Commander and has to be taken into confidence before any major decision can be taken.
DNA India News
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