Indian Prime Minister Convenes Security Meeting Over Tensions With Pakistan - Reports

Faizan Hashmi Published February 27, 2019 | 05:26 PM

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a government meeting on security issues amid worsening relations

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th February, 2019) Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a government meeting on security issues amid worsening relations with Pakistan, local media reported Wednesday.

The meeting was held at the prime minister's residence and was attended by ministers of interior affairs, defense, foreign affairs, finance, as well as National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, according to the NDTV broadcaster.

Earlier in the day, the Indian Foreign Ministry said a Pakistani jet was shot down in the aerial incident over the disputed Kashmir region, adding that India also lost one Mig-21 aircraft. The Pakistani army said it had downed two Indian jets that crossed the so-called Line of Control (LoC) separating the Indian-and Pakistani-controlled parts of Jammu and Kashmir.

On Tuesday, the Indian Air Force carried out an airstrike against a camp of Jaish-e-Mohammad group, considered terrorist by India, which was located across the LoC. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry has slammed the airstrike as a violation of its territorial integrity and sovereignty.

This incident followed the February 14 attack, in which a car carrying over 100 Pounds of explosives was detonated on a highway next to a security convoy in the Pulwama district of the Jammu and Kashmir state, killing 45 Indian paramilitary officers. This was the biggest terrorist attack in India since 2008, when over 150 people were killed in Mumbai. India has named Maulana Masood Azhar, the leader of the Jaish-e-Mohammed residing in Pakistan, as the person responsible for ordering the attack.

After the attack, India blamed Pakistan for harboring and protecting terrorists, accusing the country of having a "direct hand" in the incident. As a punitive measure, India withdrew Pakistan's most-favored nation status and raised custom duties on goods imported from Pakistan to 200 percent.

Pakistan has rejected the allegations of its involvement in the attack and said that this was New Delhi's strategy to divert international attention from human rights violations taking place in the Kashmir region.