The government convened an all-party meeting on Thursday to brief political leaders on the success of “Operation Sindoor” and its aftermath, amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22. This was the second high-level meeting between government and opposition leaders within a fortnight.
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh chaired the meeting, with key government figures including Home Minister Amit Shah, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, BJP President J.P. Nadda, and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in attendance. From the opposition, prominent leaders such as Congress’ Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, TMC’s Sandip Bandyopadhyay, and DMK’s T.R. Baalu participated.
Other notable opposition attendees included Ram Gopal Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, AAP’s Sanjay Singh, Sanjay Raut of Shiv Sena (UBT), Supriya Sule from NCP (SP), Sasmit Patra of the BJD, and CPI(M)’s John Brittas. JD(U)’s Sanjay Jha, LJP (Ram Vilas) leader and Union Minister Chirag Paswan, and AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi were also present.
The meeting came a day after India carried out targeted strikes on nine terror launch pads across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir in retaliation to the Pahalgam attack. In response, Pakistan launched intense shelling along the border, resulting in the deaths of 15 civilians and injuries to over 50 others in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district.
Ahead of the meeting, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide a detailed briefing on the security situation and cross-border developments. The government emphasized national unity and cross-party cooperation in addressing the evolving security challenges.
