Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has claimed that more than 100 ‘militants’ were killed in their ‘Operation Sindoor' in Pakistan. He made the statement during an all-party meeting held at 11 am in New Delhi on Thursday.
Rajnath Singh said the operation is yet to be over, but India does not intend to launch further attacks. However, he warned that if Pakistan retaliates, India is prepared to respond firmly.
According to Indian claims, the opposition leaders were briefed about the terrorist camps destroyed in Pakistan.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said, "We have listened to what the government has conveyed. In the interest of secrecy, the government chose not to disclose some information. At this juncture, we stand with the government."
Citing government sources, multiple media outlets reported that a message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi was read out during the meeting. It called for national unity in this challenging time.
Earlier, the prime minister called an all-party meeting on 22 April, but he did not attend the meeting. Since then, the opposition parties were demanding an all-party meeting with the presence of the prime minister. The government called the meeting immediately after the missile strike in Pakistan.
Once again, Modi did not attend the meeting on Thursday, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh chaired the session in his place. Other senior ministers in attendance included Home Minister Amit Shah, External Affairs Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju.
Opposition leaders present included Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay, DMK's TR Baalu, Aam Aadmi Party's Sanjay Singh, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, and NCP's Supriya Sule.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju told reporters that opposition leaders had demonstrated political maturity. In the current situation, all parties are largely united.
Later, Kharge questioned the prime minister's absence for the second time. "Like the first meeting, the prime minister was not present in the second meeting either. He seems to consider himself above the parliament. We will raise this issue later. Right now, in this time of national crisis, we will not criticise him,” he said.
In the wake of the terrorist attack, precautionary measures have been taken at border airports in northern and western India. A total of 27 airports will remain closed until Saturday.
On Thursday alone, a total of 430 flights were cancelled. According to PTI, all major civil airlines, including Air India, Air India Express, IndiGo, SpiceJet, and Akasa Air, were forced to cancel several scheduled flights.
Due to the closure of airports in northern and western regions, the Delhi Airport is experiencing heavy pressure. According to FlightRadar, the airspace stretching from Jammu and Kashmir to Gujarat remains almost restricted.