Shed ambivalence on terrorism, Antony tells Pakistan

NEW DELHI - Defence Minister A.K. Antony Monday asked Pakistan to shed its ambivalence on terrorism and reminded it that India will continue to keep a constant vigil on developments there.

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, Antony said here at the five-day army commanders conference.

Antony also underlined the need for probity and transparency in all military 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 the people of our country have become used to, he said.

Citing the losses suffered by India while fighting terrorism, he said that we will crush terrorism with all our might.

“As long as the terror infrastructure across the border continue to flourish, we cannot afford to drop our guard, he said.

Calling upon the armed forces to maintain a high level of operational readiness, Antony said: 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 and D (research and development) and manufacturing.

The conference will review the security situation, emerging challenges and strategies.

The conference will also focus on training and its effectiveness based on state-of-the-art technology for meeting the future challenges and for attaining a high state of combat readiness.