Ahead of the India and Pakistan military level talks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday chaired a high-level meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the three service chiefs and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval at his 7, Lok Kalyan Marg residence in New Delhi.

After the meeting, PM Modi also held a separate meeting with NSA Doval and Air Force Chief AP Singh. These meetings lasted for about 30 minutes and came ahead of the DGMO-level talks between the militaries of India and Pakistan.

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The two nuclear-armed neighbours came on the brink of a full-fledged war last week after India struck terror camps in Pakistan and its occupied part of Jammu and Kashmir in response to the April 22 Pahalgam attack.

After Indian strikes, Pakistan also launched a drone and missile attack. However, strong Indian air defences neutralised the Pakistan attack, and Indian armed forces strongly retaliated, destroying several Pakistani airbases and an air defence unit in Lahore.

Fearing a more intense Indian military response, Pakistan reportedly reached out to the US seeking a truce with India. While the details of how the ceasefire was reached were not shared, India confirmed that an understanding had been reached and both countries would adhere to the ceasefire on land, sea, and air.

However, before India and Pakistan confirmed the development, US President Donald Trump declared the ceasefire in a social media post, triggering a massive political storm in India.

The Opposition parties slammed the government for allowing US mediation and demanded a special session of Parliament.

The fact that Trump also offered to mediate on the “dispute” over Kashmir made things even embarrassing for the government as the Opposition questioned whether it allowed the violation of the 1972 Simla agreement, which states that disputes between India and Pakistan will be resolved bilaterally without the intervention of any third country.