Defence Minister A K Antony said though India was not unduly concerned, its armed forces would have to keep "a constant vigil" on the developments in Pakistan.
Inaugurating the five-day Army commanders conference here, Antony said, "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."
Pointing out that fighting terrorism cost the nation substantially, the Defence Minister said, "We will crush terrorism with all our might."
Noting that violence in Jammu and Kashmir had "shown signs of abating" due to the constant vigil by the Army, he said, "The Army has been quite successful in countering the proxy war and in minimising the incidents of terror.
"Still, as long as the terror infrastructure across the border continues to flourish, we cannot afford to drop our guard,"
The Defence Minister said the security situation in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region continued to be "a cause for concern" and added that despite the physical and material costs, India had at all times advocated peace and stability with all nations.
Antony said the volatile political situation in India's immediate neighbourhood had the potential of having a debilitating impact on the region and pointed out that country's role in preserving peace and stability became all the more important.
Asking the armed forces to maintain a high level of operational readiness, Antony stressed that the government remains committed to modernisation and indigenisation.
"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 research and development."
Underlining the need for probity and transparency in defence deals, he said, "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 that the people of our nation have become used to."
The inaugural session of the Army Commanders' Conference was attended among others by the Army chief General V K Singh and Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar.The five-day conference will review the security situation, emerging challenges and strategies
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