Pakistan continues to encourage terrorists to infiltrate into India under the cover of massive cross-Line of Control (LOC) and cross-border firing in Jammu and Kashmir and the Pulwama terror attack in February this year confirmed yet again that India remains a persistent target of Pakistan’s state sponsored cross-border terrorism policy.
Making this observation in its annual report for 2018-19, the Defence Ministry said on Monday India’s position is that Pakistan takes credible and irreversible steps to stop supporting terrorists and terror groups operating from territories under its control and dismantle the infrastructure operated by terrorists outfits to launch attacks against India.
Assuring that India will continue to take robust and decisive steps to ensure its national security, the document said India’s response amongst other measures, included a successful pre-emptive non-military anti-terror aerial strike on the largest training of Jaish-e-Mohammad(JeM) in Balakot in Pakistan. The aerial strike came on February 26 in retaliation to the Pulwama attack on February 14 by JeM in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force(CRPF) were killed.
Touching upon internal security situation in the country, the report said state sponsored terrorism by Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir remains the foremost challenge. During the period from January 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019, security forces were able to neutralize 305 militants, the document informed.
On China, the report mentioned that relations with the eastern neighbor moved towards greater stability in the overall context of closer developmental partnership. Following the informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in Wuhan in China in April last year, there was improved and sustained stability in the India-China border areas.
This comes in the backdrop of India and China having a disputed border of more than 4,000 km and two countries fighting a war in 1962. The report said both sides recognized that peace and tranquility in the India-China border is an important pre-requisite to development of bilateral relations.
As regards political situation in Pakistan, the report said it continues to remain challenging with a severe deficit of inclusive and balance economic development. The Pakistan Army consolidated its position as the institution driving Pakistan’s foreign policy and defence policies after the elections there.
Pakistan also continues to relentlessly expand its military forces, especially nuclear and missile capabilities despite a financial crisis. The country has been torn by ethno-regional conflicts, with the zone of conflict expanding from tribal areas on Pakistan-Afghanistan border to hinterland. Religious extremism is also on the rise. The military has avoided taking action against jihadi and internationally proscribed terror outfits that target Pakistan’s neighbor. Support to such group persists, the 272-page report observed.
On global scenario, the report said terrorism and radicalization are the biggest threats to peace and security facing the world. India has reiterated at a number of bilateral and multilateral platforms its resolve in all its forms and manifestations.
The global concerns regarding proliferation of weapons of mass destruction(WMD) and their delivery systems, continue to pose serious threats to international security. The WMD terrorism will remain a potent threat as long as there are terrorists seeking to gain access to relevant material and technologies for malicious purposes, the report said.