Singapore: India on Saturday said it would be
hard to justify "self-restraint" in case of another 26/11 type
of Mumbai attack on its territory.
"If the provocation is to happen again, I think it
would be hard to justify to our people such a self-restraint,"
as has been exercised following the 26/11 Mumbai attack,
Minster of State for Defence, M M Pallam Raju told an Asian
security conference here.
But "I hope that it will not be repeated," the
Minister said, pointing out that India had exercised great
self-restraint and "dealt in a very mature manner with the
government of Pakistan," following the 26/11 attack on Mumbai.
He said, India is engaged in extensive dialogues with
Pakistan relating to the attack.
"The international community is aware of the damning
evidence that has come out from David Headley's
interrogation," he told the Shangri-La Dialogue where Defence
Ministers from China, US, UK and top defence analysts were in
attendance.
"We have had an extensive engagement in trying to
bring the perpetrators to the book and have been continuing
dialogue at government level (with Pakistan)," he said.
Raju said, it was not only India but Pakistan which
had now become a victim to the machinations of the terrorists.
In his written speech, the Minister said, the spectrum
of terrorist challenges to India ranged from suicide bombers
to cyber hostility and New Delhi was developing capabilities
to deal with these.
To grapple with this, the Minister said, there was a
need for special equipment and special training and a
doctrinal shift from the previous pre-occupation with
conventional warfare alone.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, June 04, 2011, 23:41