NSA Ajit Doval meets PM Modi again, second time in 24 hours amid tensions with Pakistan   

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval met Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the second time in 24 hours on Tuesday, as India intensifies its security posture following the April 22 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam. The meeting, held at the Prime Minister's residence, lasted for 40 minutes, official sources confirmed to India Today.

This back-to-back consultation comes as New Delhi is assessing its response options. Just a day earlier, Doval and Home Secretary Govind Mohan had joined the Prime Minister for a high-level security review at his office.

The Pahalgam terror strike, which claimed 26 civilian lives, has prompted an escalated series of meetings between the Prime Minister and top security and defence officials. On Monday, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh briefed Modi on evolving developments, a day after Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal A P Singh met him to assess the threat scenario. On Saturday, Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi also updated Modi on maritime security conditions in the Arabian Sea.

Following these meetings, Modi last week gave the armed forces “complete operational freedom” to determine the timing, mode, and targets of India’s retaliation, stressing the country’s resolve to deal a “crushing blow to terrorism.”

As India readies its civil infrastructure for emergency scenarios, the Union Home Ministry has directed all states and Union Territories to conduct mock drills on Wednesday (May 7) in view of “new and complex threats.” The exercise, covering 244 civil defence districts, includes operationalising air-raid sirens, rehearsing evacuations, testing radio and hotline links with the Indian Air Force, and activating control and shadow control rooms.

"In the current geo-political scenario, new and complex threats/challenges have emerged, hence, it would be prudent that optimum civil defence preparedness in the states/UTs is maintained at all times," the Directorate General Fire Service, Civil Defence and Home Guards said in a letter.

The drills are planned down to the village level and aim to involve civil defence wardens, volunteers, home guards, National Cadet Corps (NCC), National Service Scheme (NSS), Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS), and school and college students.