NEW DELHI, Jan 14: The head of the Indian army said on Wednesday that it has noted Pakistan’s movement of some of its troops to the border with India in the wake of the Mumbai attacks and acknowledged there had been an increase in tension.
Gen Deepak Kapoor, however, told reporters that although New Delhi was keeping all its options open, military action would be the last resort.
“We are keeping all options open. There is no need for war hysteria,” General Kapoor said. “Waging war is a political decision,” he stressed.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said action against terrorists and not war was the issue with Pakistan. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband this week praised India’s restraint as the right approach.
Gen Kapoor said Pakistan had moved some troops from Federally Administered Tribal Areas to its border with India. “Movement of Pakistani troops has been factored in India’s planning. We are keeping all options open — diplomatic, economic and as last resort fighting option.”
The army chief added: “There is troop movement from western Pakistan but we are prepared. Strike formation around Indo-Pak border in December is routine.”
Speaking on the issue of getting India ready to deal with the threat of terrorism, Gen Kapoor said that every combat unit in the country must have the capability to fight all forms of urban terror and threats to its internal security.
He said India’s military chiefs had factored this as part of its operational planning and so there was no need to, as he put it, “whip up war hysteria”.
Meanwhile, asked to respond to Prime Minister Yousuf
Raza Gilani’s comments in parliament on Tuesday, Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee observed that Pakistan continued to remain in denial.
“There is a continuing pattern of evasiveness and denial in Pakistan’s response to the terrorist attack on Mumbai,” he said. “We have asked their government to undertake investigations in Pakistan and to share the results with us so as to bring the perpetrators to justice. We await a response from the Government of Pakistan.”
Instead, Pakistani leaders at high levels were issuing statements to the media. “These reinforce the already strong doubts which exist on Pakistan’s stance on terrorism from Pakistan, and on its capacity and willingness to cooperate with other countries against terrorism. Pakistan must fully implement its international obligations under various legal instruments on terrorism.”
