India
Journalists were shut out of ministries of external affairs and defence at Delhi’s South Block to prevent leaking of information and indulging in wild speculations. Forces are on high alert, convoy movement suspended. This also means soldiers can’t go on leave.
New Delhi: The Line of Control and international border with Pakistan is eerily silent. Indian foreign officials are in hush-hush discussions with at least 30 ambassadors in New Delhi as we report this.
Foreign missions are seeing heightened activity. And much more is happening behind the scenes after the Pulwama massacre of 44 CRPF jawans by a Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide bomber on Thursday.
As the news of the biggest terror attack on the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir shook the nation to its core, the Indian government, security forces, agencies and diplomatic missions have swung into intrepid action.
Delhi: Representatives from different diplomatic missions leave from the Ministry of External Affairs. Representatives from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Nepal, South Korea, Sweden, Bhutan, Canada, Britain, Russia, Israel & others were present. pic.twitter.com/eN5BVVqWYe
— ANI (@ANI)Journalists were shut out of ministries of external affairs and defence at Delhi’s South Block to prevent leaking of information and indulging in wild speculations. Forces are on high alert, convoy movement suspended. This also means soldiers can’t go on leave.
Also read: 6 warnings PM Modi issued to Pakistan following Pulwama massacre
Is something big afoot? Quite likely, with PM Narendra Modi assertively promising strongest retaliatory action.
League of nations are usually taken into confidence before decisive action. Indian officials not only met Permanent 5 members from the US, Russia, France, China and the UK, top-secret meetings were on with about three dozen more countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Nepal, Germany, Hungary, Italy, European Union, Canada, Britain, Russia, Israel, Australia and Japan.
Think why this is happening... it preparing ground for something significant. I'm fine with something significant, as long as it produces results. The problem is the quality of Indian assessments is usually quite low https://t.co/lGZUI6sJW3
— Abhijit Iyer-Mitra (@Iyervval)Indian envoy to Pakistan Ajay Bisaria has been called back to Delhi. According to sources, he has been back for consultations.
This move came 24 hours after Pulwama attack, which rocked Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday
The Imran Khan government in Pakistan had rejected India's charge of its involvement in the attack. Attack in Pulwama in Kashmir is "a matter of grave concern", the Pakistan Foreign Office said in a statement.
Also read: India wants revenge for Pulwama CRPF massacre; here are 10 options
Asserting that Pakistan has "always condemned acts of violence" anywhere in the world, it said, "We strongly reject any insinuation by elements in the Indian media and government that seek to link the attack to Pakistan without investigations."
Representatives from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Nepal also present at Ministry of External Affairs. pic.twitter.com/wdFJZmHTIG
— ANI (@ANI)China expressed token shock over the Pulwama attack, and stopped short of naming its ally Pakistan as being involved in the massacre of the CRPF men. China has once again declined India’s plea to brand Jaish-e-Mohammad’s (JeM) commander Maulana Masood Azhar as a “global terrorist”.
The US, Russia, France, Germany, Israel and South Korea, on the other hand, strongly condemned the attack.
Delhi: Representatives from Germany, Hungary, Italy, European Union, Canada, Britain, Russia, Israel, Australia and Japan have arrived https://t.co/7jQGYolM4E
— ANI (@ANI)Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday warned Pakistan that the attack such as the one on CRPF soldiers in Pulwama will not weaken India and those responsible will have to pay a "very heavy price".
In a hard-hitting speech, Modi said security forces will be given complete freedom to crack down on terrorism, and the "blood of the people is boiling". "Our neighbouring country thinks such terror attacks can weaken us, but their plans will not materialise," he said at a function to flag off a new semi-high speed train from Delhi to Varanasi.
India had launched a telling surgical strike in 2016 in retaliation to the Uri attack, in which Pakistani terrorists killed 19 Indian soldiers. The surgical strikes witnessed the Indian soldiers crossing the Line of Control (LoC) and demolishing several terrorist bases in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and inflicting heavy damage on the enemy.
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