No chest thumping on surgical strikes, says Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday sought to rein in his colleagues’ sabre-rattling in the face of Opposition naysayers by instructing his ministerial colleagues to restrain themselves and avoid creating hysteria around the sensitive issue of surgical strikes.

Mr Modi’s reaction to the on-going political slugfest over the surgical strikes came during the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, while the feasibility of releasing some evidence of the strikes was being deliberated upon. The PM said only authorised people should speak on the matter. Despite a section of the Congress and the Aam Admi Party questioning the authenticity of the surgical strikes, sources said the government is not likely to take any hasty decision on releasing the evidence.

The Cabinet Committee on Security, chaired by the PM, also met on Wednes-day and discussed possibilities, including the fallout in case some edited portions of the evidence is released. The CCS also took note of a report submitted by Research & Analysis Wing and the IB “strongly” advising against releasing any form of evidence related to the surgical strikes.

The intelligence agencies’ report, shared with the CCS by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, categorically stated that releasing any evidence would hugely compromise the possibility of any such operations in the future.

The NSA also informed the CCS on Wednesday that Pakistan is planning to push around 100 militants into the Kashmir Valley before the onset of winter for which the Pakistan Army has activated 12 launchpads close to the border again.