Following the Pulwama terror attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi says Pakistan will get a “befitting response”

India on Friday announced that it had decided to withdraw the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status granted to Pakistan and would also take all possible steps to isolate the country at the international level after Thursday’s car bomb attack in which at least 37 CRPF men were killed in the Kashmir Valley.

Briefing the press after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), Minister Arun Jaitley said outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence that the Ministry of External Affairs would announce the diplomatic steps to be taken against Pakistan. A notification would be issued by the Commerce Ministry withdrawing the MFN status.

Mr. Jaitley announced that the government would call for an all-party meeting after Home Minister Rajnath Singh returned from a visit to the Kashmir Valley.

Perpetrators will be punished: Modi

Speaking at a public function just after Mr. Jaitley’s briefing, Mr. Modi assured people that the perpetrators of the terror strike would be punished. He said it was important that the country spoke in one voice after the terror strike. India would give a befitting response to the terror attack. He called on the international community to stand together to defeat terrorism.

The CCS meet morning was chaired by the Prime Minister. Mr. Singh, Mr.Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj and Nirmala Sitharaman were present at the meeting.

Top security officials are learnt to have made a presentation on the incident and the overall security situation in the State.

(With inputs from PTI)