Declaring that relentless operations will continue against terrorists, army chief Gen S Padmanabhan Monday said that army's counter-infiltration posture was being strengthened with force multipliers like electronic devices being deployed on the border. Pointing out that during winter snowfall the terrorists tended to gravitate to populated centres, Padmanabhan said that army intended to deny this avenue of escape from rigours of winter. He said fencing along the international border would also help in counter-infiltration.
Voicing concern over the escalation in terrorist activities since mid-October, the army chief, in an interview to the forces' newsletter 'Sainik Samachar' said that our plan is to intensify our ongoing counter-terrorist operations to see that terrorists are put out of action wherever and whenever they may be encountered. In the interview, recorded much before Saturday's nation-wide address by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, Padmanabhan said along with the active posture against militants, concerted military civic action will also be undertaken to wean away the people from militancy.
Welcoming the peace process in Nagaland, the army chief said this had brightened the hope for restoration of peace in the state as well as in the region.
He disclosed a similar peace process was also progressing satisfactorily with some other groups in Assam, adding that the army had contributed significantly towards creating an environment conducive for peace initiatives.
Bureau Report