Who is Alok Joshi, former R&AW chief, now chairman of National Security Advisory Board?

In the aftermath of the deadly Pahalgam attack on April 22, in which 26 people were killed, the central government decided to revamp the National Security Advisory Board (NSAB).

According to an ANI report, Alok Joshi has been appointed as the head of NSAB. Six more members have been inducted into the board.

Who is Alok Joshi?

According to the report, Joshi is a former Chief of the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW). Joshi will lead a seven-member board comprising retired senior officers from India's military, police, and foreign services.

Joshi, a 1976 batch IPS officer of Haryana Cadre, was earlier Special Secretary in RAW under the Cabinet Secretariat, before being appointed as Secretary RAW in 2012. Joshi has previously served in Intelligence Bureau and Haryana Police. He has been a part of key operations in Nepal and Pakistan in the past.

First constituted in December 1998, the NSAB undertakes long-term analysis to provide perspectives on the national security issues to the National Security Council (NSC) and to recommend measures or solutions and policy options on the issues referred to it by the NSC.

What is the revamp?

The members include Former Western Air Commander Air Marshal PM Sinha, former Southern Army Commander Lieutenant General AK Singh, and Rear Admiral Monty Khanna, all retired military officers. Rajiv Ranjan Verma and Manmohan Singh are the two retired members of the Indian Police Service. B Venkatesh Varma is a retired IFS officer in the seven-member board.

Two additional meetings – the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) and the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) – were also convened along with the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meet at PM Narendra Modi's residence.

Convened by the PM, the meetings concluded on Wednesday afternoon. This was the second CCS meeting convened following the Pahalgam terror attack. The CCS last met on April 23 and was briefed in detail on the attack.

The first CCS meeting

In the briefing to the CCS, the cross-border linkages of the terrorist attack were brought out. It was noted that this attack came in the wake of the successful holding of elections in the Union Territory and its steady progress towards economic growth and development.

The government then announced a series of measures, including holding the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance, in a strong message to Pakistan for its support of cross-border terrorism.

Earlier on Tuesday, PM Modi chaired a meeting attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, and the three other service chiefs.

In this meeting, the PM asserted that the armed forces have “complete operational freedom” to decide on the mode, targets and timings of India's response, government sources told PTI.

The second CCS meeting

The CCS, chaired by PM Modi, is understood to have deliberated on the overall security situation in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday amid speculations about India's possible retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack in view of its cross border linkages, a PTI report said.

The meeting was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, the report said.

(With agency inputs)