JOIN USInfiltration threatens security, says report
A day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari that it was imperative on the part of Islamabad to leash the perpetrators of terror, the Defence ministry on Monday said terrorist camps along the Indo-Pak border and continued infiltration of terrorists into the country were posing a threat to regional security.
“Undiminished activities of terrorist organisations continued to be a cause of concern,” the defence ministry said in its 2011-12 annual report released on Monday, containing the government's analysis of regional security concerns.
Singh, during his Sunday’s meeting with Zardari, asserted that visible action on the ground by Islamabad to crack down on terrorists and punish the guilty behind 26/11 terror strike was crucial to take Indo-Pak bilateral relations to a new height. However, Both nations have agreed to continue with the dialogue process.
As per the assessment of the Multi Agency Centre (MAC), a top central intelligence unit with representation from all intelligence agencies, as many as 68 militants attempted to cross over the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir during September and October, 2011. As many as 52 infiltrated successfully, the report said.
The number was marginally higher during the corresponding period in 2010, when 85 such attempts were made. There is no sharp drop in infiltration attempts since 2008 while as many as 42 terror camps are active across the border, the report added. Intelligence inputs also suggest that Pakistan has constructed 856 bunkers, 261 morcha (temporary field fortification), 378 towers and 143 border out posts.
On the Chinese threat, the Defence ministry said India remained “conscious and watchful of the implications of China's military profile in the immediate and extended neighbourhood.” “The unsolved boundary dispute between India and China has been a factor in India's security calculus,” the report said.
India, Russia sign defence deal
Against the backdrop of the Army Chief highlighting shortage of shells for armoured regiments, a Defence Ministry report said a contract was signed with Russia in 2010 for 16,000 rounds of ammunition for T-90 tanks. The Defence Ministry said a contract for procurement of 66,000 rounds of ammunition for 84 mm rocket launchers was signed in March last year with Swedish Saab.
"A contract for procurement of 16,000 rounds of FSAPDS ammunition for tank T-90was signed with Rosoboronexport, Russia in December 2010. It became effective in March, 2011, and the complete consignment is likely to be delivered by March, 2012," the report said.