Bhubaneswar, May 8: Amid the ongoing tensions between Indian and Pakistan over the Pahalgam terrorist attack and ‘Operation Sindoor’, Union Home Minister Amit Shah's two-day Odisha visit, which was supposed to start on May 10, has been cancelled.
This was informed by Sambalpur MLA and senior BJP leader Jayanarayan Mishra on Thursday.
"The Ministry hasn't officially confirmed anything yet, but internal sources have informed us that the visit has been cancelled," the MLA said.
As per the schedule, Shah was supposed to attend important events in Puri, Sambalpur, and Bhubaneswar. The visit was also politically important, as it would have been his first big appearance in Odisha since the BJP took power in the state.
Sources said that the visit was cancelled because Shah needs to focus on handling the situation after 'Operation Sindoor'—a major military action by India in the wee hours of May 7 that targeted terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Recently, Shah told paramilitary leaders to cancel all leaves and make sure all personnel are on duty. He also held online meetings with Chief Ministers, Chief Secretaries, and top police officials from important border states. They talked about increasing security, stopping anti-national activities, and fighting false information, especially online.
It is worth mentioning that the Indian Armed Forces launched ‘OPERATION SINDOOR’, hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed.
Altogether, nine (9) sites were targeted in which more than 80 terrorists were neutralized. List of sites hit in Operation Sindoor:
- Bahawalpur, located around 100 Km from the International Boundary. It is the headquarters of the JeM.
- Muridke, located 30 km from the border opposite Samba. It is an LeT camp.
- Gulpur, 35 km from LoC in Poonch-Rajouri.
- LeT camp in Sawai, 30 km inside POK, Tangdhar Sector.
- Bilal Camp, a JeM launchpad.
- LeT Kotli camp, 15 km from LoC opposite Rajouri.
- Barnala camp, 10 km from LoC opposite Rajouri.
- Sarjal camp, JeM camp about 8 km from IB opposite Samba-Kathua.
- Mehmoona camp, 15 km from IB, near Sialkot, HM training camp.
This was India’s most intense strikes inside Pakistan’s undisputed territory since 1971, successfully targeting terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. This is the most significant military action by India in Pakistani territory in over fifty years.
