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"Pakistan situation worrisome"

Says all three services taking necessary precautions and “closely monitoring” the developments

Updated - November 17, 2021 01:11 am IST - NEW DELHI:

Union Defence Minister A.K. Antony with Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Nirmal Kumar Verma (second from left) prior to the Naval Commanders Conference 2011 in New Delhi on Wednesday. Photo: V.V. Krishnan

Union Defence Minister A.K. Antony with Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Nirmal Kumar Verma (second from left) prior to the Naval Commanders Conference 2011 in New Delhi on Wednesday. Photo: V.V. Krishnan

India on Wednesday reiterated that developments in Pakistan, especially the terror attack in Karachi, were of serious concern to it.

Defence Minister A.K. Antony, who articulated the viewpoint, emphasised that all three services were taking necessary precautions and “closely monitoring” the situation.

His remarks came in response to questions on the issue after his address to the Navy Commanders' Conference.

In his address, Mr. Antony said that the challenges of the Indian Ocean Rim and the volatile neighbourhood, made it imperative for the country to maintain operational readiness at all times, a Defence Ministry release said.

“Recent incidents in our neighbourhood have strongly underlined the need to maintain constant vigil. The Navy needs to take stock of the level of operational preparedness from time to time,” Mr. Antony said.

On the safety of nuclear weapons in Pakistan after the terror attack on the Karachi naval base, Mr. Antony said the unease about it was not just for the country but for everybody. He said Indian security forces had to maintain constant vigil since the country was always on the radar of terrorists. He said there were many terrorists waiting across the border to infiltrate into India, especially Jammu and Kashmir, and the armed forces were ever-ready to prevent such incidents.

Talks with China

On the stalled Sino-Indian defence talks, Mr. Antony said it would resume soon at the level of Secretaries.

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