40 terror camps active in Pakistan: Antony

NEW DELHI - Over 40 terror training camps are still functioning in Pakistan, Defence Minister A.K. Antony said Wednesday, asking Islamabad to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure operating from its soil to show its commitment to the resumption of talks between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

“There are more than 40 terror camps in Pakistan. Pakistan must take action against terrorists and dismantle terror infrastructure,” Antony told reporters on the sidelines of a conference on defence accounts.

Asked if the sub-continental peace process had restarted after the April 29 talks in Thimphu between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani, Antony said: “You cannot change neighbours. We are committed to the peace process. It is high time Pakistan took action to match its words.”

He said Indian forces were maintaining strict vigil in Jammu and Kashmir to stop any possible militant incursion from across the border.

External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said Tuesday he would be travelling to Islamabad for a July 15 meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi. Before this, Home Minister P. Chidambaram will visit Islamabad for a meeting of the SAARC home ministers.

After their talks, the Indian and Pakistani prime ministers had mandated their foreign ministers and foreign secretaries to work out the modalities of restoring trust, paving the way for substantive dialogue covering all issues between the two countries.