The Cabinet Committee on Security headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is understood to have reviewed the overall security situation in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh, Union home Minister Amit Shah and external affairs minister S. Jaishankar were part of the cabinet committee meeting, PTI reported quoting people familiar with the matter.

The development comes amid intense speculation about India's response to the terrorist attack in Pahalgam’s Baisaran Valley that killed at least 26 people, mostly tourists, on April 22 and a day after PM Modi held a meeting with the top defence brass.

At the meeting on Tuesday, Prime Minister Modi gave the armed forces full operational freedom to determine the “mode, targets and timing of India’s response” to the Pahalgam terror attack.

During the high-level security review meeting – with defence minister Singh, national security adviser Ajit Doval and the chiefs of the tri-services – Modi said it was “our national resolve to deal a crushing blow to terrorism”.

The PM separately met home minister Shah and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. Bhagwat drove to the Prime Minister's residence in a rare gesture.

Pakistan's information minister Attaullah Tarar said late Tuesday that Islamabad has “credible intelligence” that Delhi intends to launch a military strike within the next 24 to 36 hours.

US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said at a press briefing on Tuesday – early Wednesday India time – that Washington is reaching out to both India and Pakistan "regarding the Kashmir situation” and telling "them not to escalate the situation."

Bruce said that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio “expects to speak with the foreign ministers of Pakistan and India as early as today or tomorrow. He is encouraging other national leaders and foreign ministers to reach out to the countries on this issue.”