India expels Pakistani diplomat, asked to leave country in 24 hours

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech at the Adampur air base in Punjab will be broadcasted across media channels at 3:30 pm today. PM Modi visited Adampur early morning on Tuesday, where he was briefed by Air Force personnel and spoke to jawans, a day after his address to the nation.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday said that the opposition will question the government at the all-party meeting, regarding US President Donald Trump's claims that his administration helped broker a "ceasefire" between India and Pakistan.

The Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha said he will urge the government to call an all-party meeting soon, to discuss the latest developments in border tension between India and Pakistan, including "ceasefire".

Speaking to reporters here, he said, "Trump is saying things to claim credit. These people (PM and central government) are saying no. It is a sensitive matter. When an all-party meeting is called, we will discuss — what's the matter, what happened and what were the telephone talks— and ask all these things”. (PTI)

PM Narendra Modi posted on X, "Earlier this morning, I went to AFS Adampur and met our brave air warriors and soldiers. It was a very special experience to be with those who epitomise courage, determination and fearlessness. India is eternally grateful to our armed forces for everything they do for our nation."

The Congress on Tuesday said its repeated demands for a Prime Minister Narendra Modi-chaired all-party meeting and a special session of Parliament assume even greater urgency and importance in light of the statements from Washington DC.

The opposition party also asked whether the Modi government will conduct an exercise similar to the Vajpayee government that set up the Kargil Review Committee on July 29, 1999, three days after the Kargil War ended.

"Three days after the Kargil War ended, the Vajpayee Government set up the Kargil Review Committee on July 29 1999. Its report was tabled in Parliament on February 23, 2000 although sections of it have remained classified - as indeed they must," Congress general secretary in-charge Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X. (PTI)

Schools in five border districts of Punjab remained closed on Tuesday while a blackout was enforced in Amritsar and Hoshiarpur's Dasuya and Mukerian areas last night as a precautionary measure, officials said.

Colleges and universities also remained shut in Pathankot and Amritsar. However, authorities in Amritsar said universities and colleges can take classes online. They said schools remained closed in Amritsar, Pathankot, Fazilka, Ferozepur and Tarn Taran. However, schools in Gurdaspur, Punjab's sixth border district, as well as those in Sangrur and Barnala reopened on Tuesday.

The Amritsar district administration on Tuesday morning said people can resume their normal activities. (PTI)

Indian missiles and drones inflicted heavy damage on at least eight Pakistan Air Force bases and several radar & air defence units in a withering aerial attack last week. While Pakistani air defences were knocked out, the enemy’s own aerial attacks were unable to breach Indian air defences. Read more.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation today at 8 pm. This will be the Prime Minister's first address to the nation after Operation Sindoor was launched by the Indian armed forces.

The DGMOs talks between India and Pakistan are scheduled to take place at 5 pm today. Earlier, the talks were scheduled for 12 noon.

This comes after the DGMO, along with all three military chiefs, conducted a press briefing on Operation Sindoor, sharing details on India's air defence and intercepted Pakistani strikes.

Air Marshall A K Bharti said that all of India's air bases, defence systems and equipment are completely operational, and ready for the next mission.

The Air Marshal further said that Indian air defence system effectively thwarted Pakistani attempts to target Indian installations.

DGMO Lt Gen Rajeev Ghai said during the press briefing, "Pakistan's heavy shelling (on May 9-10) failed in front of our multi layered counter drone and air defence grid."

Lieutenant General Rajeev Ghai, Director General Military Operations (DGMO) commenced a key briefing on Operation Sindoor on Monday afternoon, with all three military chiefs of the country.

A complete blackout was observed in the border districts of Rajasthan on Sunday night as a precautionary measure following a suspension of hostilities between India and Pakistan.

There were reports that some red lights, suspected to be of drones, were spotted in the sky in Barmer. The district administration sent out an alert on X, "Incoming drone activity spotted. Please stay inside your houses and observe blackout: DM Barmer." The district administration, however, refuted social media posts about a drone being shot down as factually wrong.

By Monday morning, an apparent sense of normalcy seemed to have set in with the border districts with people gathering at tea stalls and shops, engaging in usual conversations. (PTI)

The Congress on Monday urged the Centre to clarify whether it is open to third-party mediation on the Kashmir issue, warning that such as stance could potentially violate the Simla Agreement.

The grand old party pointed to US President Donald Trump's daily statements, claiming that he was intervening in the matter, and said a clarification from the union government on the matter was inevitable.

While addressing a party programme here, AICC general secretary K C Venugopal said the party wants to know whether there has been a shift in the country's foreign policy, and therefore the matter has to be taken up in the Parliament at the earliest.

Questions are now being raised if the Simla Agreement has been violated.

"Was the Simla Agreement, which rejects any third-party involvement in the Kashmir issue between India and Pakistan, violated? Trump has been making statements daily, claiming that he has intervened in the matter. We need the government's clarification," Venugopal said. (PTI)

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah posted on X," Reached Poonch early this morning to take stock of the situation following the recent cross-border shelling. I will be meeting the families who have lost their loved ones to offer my condolences. Later, I will hold a meeting with the district administration to assess the ground situation and review the relief and rehabilitation measures post-ceasefire. Ensuring the safety and well-being of our people remains our top priority."

Former Indian Army chief General Manoj Naravane has slammed questions being raised on the suspension of hostilities between India and Pakistan, saying war is not romantic and is not a Bollywood movie.

Speaking at an event in Pune, Naravane said, "War is not romantic. It is not your Bollywood movie. It is very serious business. War or violence should be the last thing we should resort to, which is why our Prime Minister said this is not an era of war. Although war will be forced upon us by unwise people, we should not cheer for it."

"The Pahalgam attack was horrifying for its selective killings. It should be called a terrorist attack and has had an impact on the consciousness. You cannot help but feel strongly when you see the families and spouses of those who have been killed. It’s heartbreaking to see the young and newly-married lose their husbands. Pahalgam is a game changer in many ways and there’s an enormous amount of solidarity that has gone out to India. I was in Kashmir last year and compared to what it was 15 years ago, I saw tourists everywhere. So basically, Pahalgam is an attack on the heart of India," said German Ambassador Philipp Ackermann. Read more.

ISRO Chairman Dr V Narayanan said that 10 satellites are continuously working for a strategic purpose to ensure the safety and security of the country's citizens.

Speaking at the convocation ceremony of the Central Agricultural University in Manipur's Imphal on Sunday, he said India is becoming a "vibrant space power" and will have its first space station by 2040.

"Today, 433 satellites of 34 countries are lifted from India and placed in orbit...I am also happy to inform you that today, 10 satellites are continuously working 24/7 for a strategic purpose to ensure the safety and security of the citizens of the country," the ISRO chief said during the programme.

After a night of calm in all border areas, Delhi airport said on Monday that their operations are running smoothly, but some flight schedules and security checkpoint processing time might be affected.

Around 100 flights to and from Delhi airport were cancelled on Sunday.

Security measures were enhanced and at least 32 airports in northern and western parts of the country were temporarily shut in view of the conflict between India and Pakistan.

Director General of Air Operations, IAF, Air Marshal AK Bharti, during a media briefing said that the Indian armed forces responded in a "quick and caliberated" manner after Indian military installation and civilian areas were targeted following the early May 7 strike on nine terror camps.

Under Operation Sindoor, the Indian military targeted Markaz Taiba of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in Muridke, Markaz Subhan Allah of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) in Bahawalpur, Hizbul Mujahideen's Mehmoona Joya Facility in Sialkot and the LeT's base in Markaz Ahle Hadith in Barnala and its camp in Muzaffarabad's Shawai Nalla, military officials said.

"We carefully selected the targets and out of the nine selected targets, the target systems that were given to the IAF were the notorious training camps at Bahawalpur and Muridke," he said.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, after addressing multiple press briefings on the India-Pakistan standoff, faced online trolling and hate comments towards his family after the ceasefire between the two countries was announced.

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi also came out strongly in support of Misri on Sunday.

"Mr Vikram Misri is a decent, honest, hard-working diplomat working tirelessly for our nation. Our civil servants work under the executive this must be remembered & they shouldn't be blamed for the decisions taken by the executive or any political leadership running Watan E Aziz," he posted on X.

Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai said in a media briefing on Sunday that India ended up inflicting heavy damage on Pakistani military during the exchange of fire over the past few days. The DGMO further said that at least 30-40 Pakistani security personnel were killed during the standoff.

"We are in a combat scenario. Losses are a part of combat. The question to be asked is, have we achieved our objectives of decimating the terrorist camps? The answer is a thumping yes," Director General Air Operations Air Marshal AK Bharti said at a media briefing yesterday.