Morning Digest: PM Modi says forces have free hand to respond to terror, Pakistan says India planning military action in next 24-36 hours; and more

The Hindu Morning Digest gives a select list of stories to start the day. Read the top news today on April 30, 2025

Affirming that it is India’s “national resolve to deal a crushing blow to terrorism”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the Indian armed forces have his full confidence and “complete operational freedom to decide on the mode, targets and timing” of India’s response in the aftermath of last week’s terror attack at Pahalgam that left 26 people dead.

Pakistan on Wednesday (April 30, 2025), citing “credible intelligence”, claimed that India was planning to carry out military action against it within the next 24 to 36 hours and warned New Delhi that consequences will follow. Federal Minister for Information Attaullah Tarar said the Indian government was preparing to launch an attack on the basis of “baseless and concocted allegations” regarding Pakistan’s involvement in the recent terror attack in Pahalgam.

Amid countrywide crackdown to physically remove Pakistan citizens whose visas expired on April 29, 2025, the Union Home Ministry (MHA) expanded the list of categories exempted from deportation. The MHA issued guidelines that Pakistani Hindus who have “applied for long term visas” (LTVs) and whose applications are “under process” will be exempted from the deportation process. Exemption has also been granted to Hindu migrants who were eligible but had not yet applied for LTV, on the condition that they apply immediately.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals celebrated election victory in a stunning turn of fortune but fell short on Tuesday (April 30, 2025) of winning an outright majority in Parliament, and the party will have to seek help from other another, smaller party. The vote-counting agency Elections Canada has processed nearly all ballots in what turned out to be a razor-close race that will leave the Liberals three seats short of a majority. Recounts are expected in some districts.

Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla’s mission to the International Space Station (ISS) is scheduled to be launched on May 29 2025 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Group Captain Shukla will be the pilot of the Axiom-4 mission (Ax-4) and the launch is targeted no earlier than 1:03 p.m. EDT (Eastern Day Time) on May 29, NASA announced on Tuesday.

Expressing deep concern over the situation between India and Pakistan, UN chief Antonio Guterres stands ready to support any initiatives, acceptable to both parties, for “de-escalation” and “resumption of dialogue”, his office has said. The Secretary-General “remains deeply concerned about the situation between India and Pakistan. He strongly urges both governments to exercise maximum restraint and avoid any escalation,” a statement by the office of his spokesperson said on Monday.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Delhi government over the rollout of the Mahila Samriddhi Yojana, claiming that the scheme’s likely restrictions betray the trust of women in the Capital. The BJP has not responded to AAP’s allegations. Ahead of the February 8 Delhi poll, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured that eligible women in the Capital would receive a monthly financial aid of ₹2,500 under the scheme once the BJP comes to power. The BJP set March 8 as the deadline to launch the scheme but failed to meet it.