Ministry of Defence
“Give Up Ambivalence on Terrorism”: Antony to Pakistan Five-Day Army Commanders Conference Begins
Monday, October 25, 2010 17:06 IST
The Defence Minister Shri AK Antony today asked Pakistan to shed its ambivalence on terrorism. Addressing the top brass of Army Commanders here, Shri Antony said Pakistan did not appear to give up India-centric posturing.
“Pakistan does not appear to be willing to leave its India-centric posturing. It will have to shed its ambivalence in dealing with terror groups. Though we are not unduly concerned, we will have to keep constant vigil on the developments in Pakistan,” Shri Antony said.
Pointing out that fighting terrorism cost the nation substantially, the Defence Minister reiterated that we will crush terrorism with all our might. Shri Antony said that violence has shown signs of abating in Jammu and Kashmir due to the constant vigil by the Army.
“The Army has been quite successful in countering the proxy war and in minimising the incidents of terror,” Shri Antony said, adding, “Still, as long as the terror infrastructure across the border continues to flourish, we cannot afford to drop our guard”.
The Defence Minister said that the security situation in the ‘AfPak’ region continues to be a cause for concern. “Despite the physical and material costs, India has at all times, advocated peace and stability with all nations – including our neighbours,” Shri Antony said. “The volatile political situation in our immediate neighbourhood has the potential of having a debilitating impact on the region. India’s role in preserving peace and stability thus, becomes all the more important,” he added.
Calling upon the Armed Forces to maintain a high level of operational readiness, Shri Antony stressed that the Government remains committed to modernisation and indigenisation.
“The Defence Ministry has introduced changes in the Defence Procurement Procedure to increase private participation. I am confident that the changes in our ‘Procurement Procedures’ will help in realising the full potential of Public Private Partnership and leverage the advantages in the fields of R & D and manufacturing,” Shri Antony said.
The Defence Minister underlined the need for probity and transparency in defence deals. “I wish to strongly reiterate that we must adopt ‘Zero Tolerance’ towards corruption in letter and spirit. Even the slightest hint of corruption will erode the lofty image of our Armed Forces that the people of our nation have become used to,” Shri Antony said.
The inaugural session of the Army Commanders’ Conference was attended among others by the Chief of Army Staff, General VK Singh and the Defence Secretary, Shri Pradeep Kumar. The five-day conference will review the security situation, emerging challenges and strategies. Issues pertaining to operational logistics to include infrastructure development and modernization will also be discussed. Keeping pace with the technology transformation and advancement, the conference will also focus on training and its effectiveness based on state-of-the-art technology for meeting the future challenges as also attaining a high state of combat readiness. PK/SR
Give Up Ambivalence on Terrorism”: Antony to Pakistan
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