Pokharan: India on Sunday said 42 terror camps
are "still active" in Pakistan and that lack of a serious
attempt or effort by that country to dismantle them is the
"main cause of concern for us."
Defence Minister A K Antony also said India did not
expect a "miracle" from the resumption of Indo-Pak talks which
concluded recently at the Foreign Secretary-level here noting
it was just a beginning.
Antony was talking to reporters after attending the Air
Force show -- Vayu Shakti Fire Power Demo in Rajasthan --
witnessed by President Pratibha Patil and other dignitaries.
"There are 42 terror camps still active in Pakistan and
there is no serious attempt or effort to dismantle them. This
is the main cause of concern for us," he said when asked if
Pakistan had kept its promise of stopping use of its soil for
terror activities against India.
He also said the recent Indo-Pak talks could not be
considered a failure as this was just a beginning and no
miracles were expected from this effort.
"We took a considered decision on holding FS-level talks
with Pakistan. We were not expecting miracles from the talks.
It was just a beginning," Antony told reporters here when
asked if the talks had failed as Pakistan did not agree on
checking terror activities against India from its soil.
The Defence Minister also made light of the recent threat
by Jamaat-ud-Dawa(JuD) Chief Hafiz Saaed against India.
"I would like to assure the nation that it is safe. Every
inch of our land will be protected. We are not worried about
any threat from any quarter. Our armed forces are prepared
24/7 around the year to tackle any threat from any quarter but
at the same time we are not war-mongers," he said.
Saeed told a Pakistani TV channel that Pakistan will
have to "fight a war at all costs" if New Delhi is not
prepared to hold talks.
Antony clarified that the Air Force exercises here were
not a signal to Pakistan to fall in line.
"No, not at all. There were no signals from this
exercise. It was just to showcase the capability of our armed
forces and assuring the nation. It also showcased the
jointness of armed forces and their capability to defeat any
threat from any quarter," he said.
On the recent attack against Indians in Kabul, Antony
said the matter had been taken up with Afghanistan at the
highest level.
"Our Prime Minister has directly conveyed our concern in
this regard to the Afghanistan President and he has assured
that they will soon conduct an inquiry and we will come to
know about the truth," Antony said.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, February 28, 2010, 22:02