Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given India's military "operational freedom" to respond to a deadly attack in Kashmir last week, a senior government source told AFP Tuesday, after New Delhi blamed it on nuclear-armed arch-rival Pakistan.
Modi told army and security chiefs in a closed-door meeting that it was India's "national resolve to deal a crushing blow to terrorism", the source said.
Modi said that the armed forces had the "complete operational freedom to decide on the mode, targets, and timing of our response to the terror attack on civilians in Kashmir", the source added.
What did Modi tell Indian army chiefs?
On Tuesday, Modi met with Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, his national security advisor and senior generals at his private residence, according to government sources cited by the Reuters and AFP news agencies.
According to the sources, he gave the military chiefs "complete operational freedom to decide on the mode, targets and timing of our response to the terror attack."
India blames the Pahalgam attack on Pakistan, which it accuses of funding and encouraging Islamist militancy in Kashmir.
Islamabad denies the allegation, insisting it merely provides moral and diplomatic support for self-determination for Muslim-majority Kashmir, and has called for an independent investigation into the attack.
Meanwhile, sporadic cross-border fire between Indian and Pakistani troops continued for a fifth day, with the Indian army saying it had responded to "unprovoked small arms fire" from multiple Pakistani positions overnight.
Pakistan's military did not confirm the shooting, which is not believed to have resulted in any casualties, but state radio reported on Tuesday that an Indian drone had been shot down.
New Delhi is yet to comment, but Indian officials have claimed to have identified attempts by Pakistan-based hackers to infiltrate websites associated with the Indian military, according to Reuters sources.