Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to chair a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) on Wednesday, days after a deadly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam claimed the lives of 26 people, most of them tourists.
The meeting, to be held in New Delhi, will be the first of the CCPA since the 2019 Pulwama terror attack and comes in the backdrop of heightened security concerns and domestic political pressures. Referred to as the “super Cabinet”, the CCPA is considered the most powerful among the Prime Minister’s cabinet panels and is tasked with deliberating on political and economic strategies of national importance.
Modi had on Tuesday evening convened a high-level consultation at his residence, assessing the situation in the Valley with key ministers and security officials.
In addition to the CCPA, the Prime Minister will also chair the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting at 11 am today. The CCS is the apex body for decisions related to national security and strategic affairs.
The CCPA’s current members include Prime Minister Narendra Modi as chairperson, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.
The last meeting of the CCPA was held in February 2019 in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack, during which it reviewed India’s security posture and coordinated counterterrorism responses. In the days following that session, the Indian Air Force conducted precision strikes on a Jaish-e-Mohammed facility in Balakot, Pakistan, marking a major escalation in the conflict.
Today’s CCS meeting will be the second convened since the recent Pahalgam attack. In the first CCS session, convened shortly after the incident, the Indian Government reportedly adopted a range of stringent measures, including downgrading diplomatic ties with Pakistan, closing key border crossings, suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, and ordering the expulsion of Pakistani military attaches from the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi.
Government sources said the Prime Minister has granted the Indian Armed Forces “complete operational freedom” to respond to the recent incident in Pahalgam.
“The surprising resilience of the market is significant. After the reciprocal tariff tantrums and the heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, Nifty is up 5 per cent in April. This underscores the importance of not panicking during a crisis,” said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.
He added: “The crucial support to the market is coming from the sustained FII inflows which have touched a cumulative figure of Rs 37,325 crore in the last 10 trading sessions. The weakness of the dollar and India’s economic resilience are supporting this FII’s India trade. This can continue.”
With expectations high ahead of both meetings, observers anticipate further announcements in diplomatic posture and counterterror strategy.
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