PM Modi chairs security meeting, CDS, tri-services chiefs present

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a meeting on May 10 with defence minister Rajnath Singh, national security adviser Ajit Doval, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Anil Chauhan and tri-services chiefs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level security review meeting at his residence on May 10 afternoon, even as the US and G-7 call for "de-escalation"  amid snowballing India-Pakistan conflict.

CNN-News18 reported that the director generals of military operations (DGMOs) of both countries spoke over the phone, the first such contact between the two countries after the breakout of hostilities.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh, national security adviser Ajit Doval, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Anil Chauhan and tri-services chiefs were part of the hour-long meeting in which the fast-changing security situation was reviewed, reports said.

Earlier, US secretary of state Marco Rubio spoke to foreign minister S Jaishankar, calling for de-escalation. Both sides should talk to each other and find ways to de-escalate to avoid miscommunication, Rubio reportedly told Jaishankar.  The US was ready to help it make happen, Rubio reportedly said.

Rubio called Jaishankar after he spoke to Pakistan army chief Asim Munir, asking him to find a way to de-escalate.

Pakistan would consider de-escalation if India doesn't attack again, defence minister Khawaja Asif reportedly said, but how much weight his words carry is not clear.

Rubio’s call to Munir shows that the United States also realises that it is Munir who is calling the shots not the Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif or his cabinet colleagues, Indian government sources said.

India has flagged the movement of Pakistani troops. Pakistani military is moving troops to forward areas, indicating intent to further escalate the situation, Wing Commander Vyomika Singh said at the daily media briefing by the external and defence ministries.

In the joint press briefing, Singh said Pakistan carried out aggressive actions employing multiple threat vectors along the western borders.

"Pakistan employed unmanned combat aerial vehicles, drones, long-range weapons, loitering munitions and fighter aircraft to target civilian areas and military infrastructure," she said.

Singh added that the Indian armed forces successfully neutralised these threats and the majority of the vectors but there was "limited damage" to equipment and personnel and IAF stations in Udhampur, Pathankot, Adampur and Bhuj.