Defence secretary meets PM Modi as India prepares its response to Pahalgam terror attack

New Delhi: Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh on Monday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi against the backdrop of increasing tensions between India and Pakistan over the Pahalgam terror attack. The meeting comes a day after Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal A P Singh met Prime Minister Modi and is understood to have discussed the security situation. Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi had on Saturday apprised the prime minister on the overall situation in the critical sea lanes in the Arabian Sea. In a high-level meeting with the top defence brass, Prime Minister Modi on last Tuesday gave the armed forces "complete operational freedom" to decide on the mode, targets and timing of the response to the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people dead. Modi also emphasised the national resolve to deal a "crushing blow to terrorism".