New Delhi: With the prestigious National
Defence College in the national capital being one of the prime
targets of Lashkar-e-Toiba, the government on Wednesday said
"adequate precaution" was being taken to safeguard the
military institution.
"I think there is a constant review of threat perceptions
and targets and we work on the safeguards adequately. You
can be rest assured that adequate precaution is taken wherever
there is a threat perception," Minister of State for Defence MM Pallam Raju said when asked if the government knew about the
terrorists` plans and steps taken to secure the institution.
Raju was talking to reporters on the sidelines of a CII
organised event here.
David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Hussain Rana, arrested
by the FBI for plotting a major terror attack in India at the
behest of Pakistan-based LeT have revealed that they were
planning to attack the NDC also.
The National Defence College trains selected senior
Defence and Civil Services officers in national and
international security-related fields and promotes research
and understanding of various linked issues.
Brigadier-level officers from the three Services and
their counterparts are trained at the NDC. Representatives
from friendly countries are also included in the different
courses run there.
Replying to a query on the Taliban threat to Pakistani
nuclear arsenal, Raju said, "I think the internal security
situation in Pakistan seems to be deteriorating everyday and
we really don`t know how long and how far the establishment
would adequately be able to safeguard their strategic assets
such as the nuclear assets."
"And I hope they are taking adequate measures and we hope
that such an incident will not happen," he said.
On steps taken by the government to prevent recurrence of
26/11 type incidents in the future, Raju said, "We are taking
all kinds of measures in terms of coordinating intelligence
sharing and information gathering in order to prevent such an
event from happening."
"That is the reason we have strengthened Multi Access
Centres, which will function both at the state and national
levels," he said.
The minister said the government was also working to
ensure that the response time of the security forces is
faster if any such attack takes place.
"If an instant attack should happen again, the response
time (of security forces) will be faster....the more important
thing is to put forward an effective response in the shortest
time possible," he added.
Bureau Report
