IAF chief AP Singh meets Narendra Modi amid India-Pakistan standoff over Pahalgam attack

Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, the Chief of Air Staff, on Sunday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his official residence in New Delhi, reported UNI news agency.

Indian Navy Chief, Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, reportedly met Modi on Saturday.

Modi had also met Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi last week.

No official readout on the meetings was released to the media.

However, it is seen as part of the ongoing deliberations over the response to the April 22 attack when terrorists killed 26 people, mostly non-Muslim tourists, who were present in the picturesque Baisaran meadows.

It was one of the deadliest attacks that the Kashmir Valley witnessed since the 2019 Pulwama incident.

Modi grants armed forces freedom to retaliate

In the wake of the Pahalgam attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made it clear that India’s response will be decisive. During an April 29 meeting with top defence and security officials, Modi gave the armed forces “complete operational freedom” to determine the timing and nature of any response, according to government sources cited by PTI.

Pakistan threatens to destroy Indian-built structures on Indus

Amid fears of war with India following the deadly Pahalgam terror attack,  Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has warned that Islamabad will target any Indian infrastructure on the Indus River if New Delhi violates the terms of the Indus Waters Treaty.

“If they [India] attempt to build any kind of structure, we will strike it,” Asif said during a Friday night interview on Pakistan’s Geo News channel.

He termed any construction along the Indus as a form of Indian “aggression” and a potential act of war.

“Aggression is not just about firing cannons or bullets; it has many faces. One of those faces is [blocking or diverting water], which could lead to deaths due to hunger and thirst,” he added.

Reiterating his stance, Asif said: “If they make any architectural attempt, then Pakistan will destroy that structure. But for now, we are heading to forums available to us, starting from the IWT. We will pursue this matter.”

India has blamed Pakistan-based terrorists for the assault and responded with a raft of punitive measures, including suspending the Indus Waters Treaty.