PM Modi cuts short Saudi visit after terror attack in J-K: Govt sources
Jeddah, Apr 22 (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi abruptly ended his two-day visit to Saudi Arabia and decided to return to New Delhi on Tuesday night following a deadly terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir, government sources said.
Modi, who held bilateral talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, skipped an official dinner hosted on Tuesday to address the crisis, they added.
He was originally scheduled to return to India on Wednesday night.
Modi, who arrived in Jeddah on Tuesday afternoon, delayed a scheduled meeting with the Saudi Crown Prince by at least two hours on Tuesday evening to assess the situation in Kashmir.
Terrorists opened fire at a famed meadow near Pahalgam town in Jammu and Kashmir, killing 26 people, mostly tourists, in what is the deadliest attack in the Valley since the Pulwama strike in 2019.
The attack, claimed by The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist group, prompted an urgent internal meeting at the Ritz Carlton hotel in Jeddah, attended by Modi, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, and other senior officials.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Doval visited the Royal Palace earlier to brief the Saudi leadership on the sudden change in plans, sources said.
Modi's planned itinerary, which included a visit to a date factory in Jeddah on Wednesday to meet Indian workers, was cancelled.
Modi was set to depart Jeddah after spending less than 12 hours in the Saudi port city.
Sources said he is expected to chair a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security in Delhi on Wednesday to address the escalating situation in Kashmir.
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Neeraj Chopra wins Golden Spike meet
Ostrava (Czech Republic), Jun 24 (PTI): Indian javelin throw superstar Neeraj Chopra on Tuesday clinched the title at the Golden Spike meet in his maiden appearance here, his back-to-back win in a top-class competition.
Fresh from his Paris Diamond League win on June 20, Chopra emerged on top in a nine-man field here though with a modest effort of 85.29m in the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold event.
He had skipped the last two editions of Golden Spike -- an event that his coach Jan Zelezny won nine times in a storied career -- due to fitness issues.
The 27-year-old Chopra has had an impressive season so far, having won his first Diamond League title in two years in Paris after also breaching the elusive 90m mark during his second place finish in Doha DL in May.
