In the wake of pre-dawn air strikes on Tuesday, February 26, on terror camps across the Line of Control by the Indian Air Force (IAF), Prime Minister Narendra Modi is holding a meeting with his top ministers of the cabinet committee on security at his home in Delhi.
Several Mirage 2000 aircraft dropped 1,000 kg bombs on terrorist camps across the LoC. The airstrike took place at 3.30 am. According to sources, three control rooms of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) were destroyed in Balakot, Chakoti and Muzzafarabad.
Sources say 200 to 300 terrorists have been killed.
Apart from National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj were at the meeting, along with other officials.
A briefing by the foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale is expected to be held at 11.30am.
OPPOSITION LAUDS IAF
The operation has drawn strong political support across the board.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi lauded the pilots of the IAF after India said it had attacked terror bases in Pakistan. Taking to Twitter, he said, "I salute the pilots of the IAF."
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the chief of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), wrote in his tweet: "I salute the bravery of Indian Air Force pilots who have made us proud...".
Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala has congratulated the pilots of the Indian Air Force.
BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan congratulated PM Modi on the airstrikes in Pakistan. On being asked how was the josh, Chauhan said "high".
India's airstrikes come 12 days after JeM, a Pakistan-based terrorist group, carried out a suicide bombing in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama on February 14, killing 40 CRPF troopers, which sparked widespread fury in India.
The Jaish-e-Mohammed, which is led by Masood Azhar, had claimed responsibility for the February 14 attack.
