India will hunt down plotters of Pahalgam attack, says Rajnath Singh

People involved in the cowardly terror attack in Kashmirs Pahalgam will get a strong response in the near future and India cannot be intimidated by any such terrorist acts Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Wednesday in the first clear indication of Indias possible response to the incidentHe also said that India will not only hunt down those who perpetrated the attack but will also trace the people who conspired to carry out the nefarious act on Indian soil while sitting behind the scenesThe defence ministers remarks while delivering the annual Arjan Singh Memorial lecture came a day after 26 people were killed by terrorists in Pahalgam in an attack that triggered widespread outrage within India and abroadHours before the address Singh reviewed the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir in a nearly twoandhalfhour meeting that was attended by NSA Ajit Doval Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi Air Chief Marshal AP Singh and Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar SinghYesterday in Pahalgam our country lost many innocent citizens in a cowardly attack by terrorists targeting religion This extremely inhuman act has plunged all of us into deep grief and pain the defence minister saidFrom this platform I assure the countrymen that in view of the incident the government of India will take every step that is necessary and appropriate he saidAnd we will not only trace those who perpetrated this incident We will also reach out to those who sitting behind the scenes have conspired to carry out the nefarious act on the soil of India Singh saidHe said India is such an old civilisation and such a big country that it cannot be intimidated by any such terrorist activitiesThe people responsible for such acts will get a strong response in the near future he assertedSingh described the attack in Pahalgam as extremely inhuman that has left all of us in deep grief and painFirst of all I express my deepest condolences to all the families who have lost their loved ones In this sad time I pray to God for the peace of the departed souls I would like to reiterate Indias firm resolve that we have a zero tolerance policy against terrorism Every citizen of India is united against this cowardly act he saidThe highlevel meeting chaired by Singh discussed all possible aspects of the situation that emerged in Jammu and Kashmir following the terror attack sources said declining to share further detailsIt is learnt that Singh directed the armed forces to enhance their combat readiness and increase intensity of antiterror operationsIn the meeting Army Chief Gen Dwivedi presented a detailed overview of the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir including deployment of his forcesStrongly condemning the terror attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said those behind the heinous act will be brought to justiceSeveral meetings on the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir have taken place since the terror attackModi returned to New Delhi this morning after cutting short his twoday trip to Saudi ArabiaHome Minister Amit Shah rushed to Srinagar on Tuesday evening to spearhead the security measuresShortly after landing in Delhi Modi held a meeting with NSA Doval External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Foreign Secretary Vikram MisriThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoeveratOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params