NEW DELHI – The dust hadn’t even settled from the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam when Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh strode into a high-stakes meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 5. The brutal assault, which left a trail of devastation in the serene Kashmir valley, has pushed India’s top brass into overdrive, grappling with a response to what officials call a calculated strike by Lashkar-e-Taiba militants.
The Pahalgam attack, a bloody ambush on a tourist convoy, claimed eight lives, including three civilians and five security personnel. It sent shockwaves through Jammu and Kashmir, a region already on edge. Official reports confirm the attackers used automatic weapons and improvised explosives, catching local forces off guard in a meticulously planned hit. The carnage, unfolding on a quiet mountain road, was the deadliest in the area since 2023.
Singh, a career bureaucrat known for his no-nonsense briefings, met Modi in the capital to lay out India’s next steps. Government sources say the armed forces have been granted full operational freedom, a move signaling Delhi’s resolve to clamp down on cross-border militancy. The meeting, held behind closed doors at the Prime Minister’s Office, capped a flurry of one-on-one discussions Modi conducted over 72 hours with the Indian Air Force chief, Navy chief, and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. Each session zeroed in on tightening security and rooting out terror networks.
India’s border with Pakistan, always a tinderbox, is under sharper scrutiny. Official statements point to Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based militant group, as the mastermind behind the attack. No formal comment has come from Islamabad, but Delhi’s tone is unmistakable: swift, decisive action is on the table. Military deployments along the Line of Control have been bolstered, with additional troops and surveillance drones dispatched to plug gaps in the rugged terrain.
The Pahalgam attack isn’t just a security crisis—it’s a gut punch to a region banking on tourism to rebuild. The valley’s economy, battered by years of unrest, now faces fresh fears of empty hotels and canceled bookings. Local officials report a 30% drop in tourist arrivals since the attack, a figure that could climb if tensions escalate.
Modi and Singh’s meeting wasn’t just about firepower. Discussions also covered intelligence failures that let the attackers slip through, as well as long-term plans to choke militant funding. A government release underscored the need for “ironclad coordination” between state and central agencies, hinting at reforms to plug leaks in the security grid.
As of May 5, no new attacks have been reported, but the mood in Delhi is grim. The Prime Minister’s Office has stayed tight-lipped on specifics, saying only that “all necessary measures” are being taken. Singh, meanwhile, was seen leaving the meeting with a stack of files, his face set in a determined scowl. For now, India waits, its eyes fixed on the volatile border and its leaders locked in a race to prevent another tragedy.