A day after Defence Minister Arun Jaitley cautioned that India is living in a troubled neighbourhood and termed Pakistan as a “global puzzle”, Army chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag on Saturday asked his commanders to continuously assess the situation in the sub continent. He also directed his officers to maintain “relentless pressure” on terrorists in Jammu & Kashmir to ensure peaceful Assembly polls.
Sharing his strategic vision while addressing the Army top brass on culmination of Commanders’ Conference here, Suhag asked them to continuously assess the situation in the neighbourhood in view of security transition taking place there. His observation came in the backdrop of NATO pull out from Afghanistan, growing tentacles of Taliban in Pakistan and its fallout in India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while on a visit to New York and Washington in September, had cautioned the US Government against hasty withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan, citing the mistakes committed while pulling out from Iraq.
Addressing the Commanders of three Services, Jaitley said on Friday India is living in a troubled neighbourhood. While terming Pakistan as “global puzzle,” he said the neighbouring country had tried to create trouble in India for the last 20 years through cross-border terrorism. However, the Indian security forces had successfully thwarted Pakistan’s designs, he said.
Taking stock of internal security situation in the country, Suhag, meanwhile, stressed on the need to maintain “relentless pressure” in Jammu & Kashmir to deny terrorists time and space to operate in order to disrupt the forthcoming elections.