NEW DELHI: Defence Minister A K Antony and Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor on Monday painted a glooming picture of South Asia and cautioned that nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorists would have unimaginable consequences.
Antony and General Kapoor attended a seminar on ‘Changing Nature of Conflicts-Trends and Responses’ organised by Army’s think-tank Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS) where they presented the government’s assessment of the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan and Pakistan which has made South Asia one of the biggest trouble spots in the world.
While Kapoor dropped a hint at China’s growing intervention in the region, Antony feared about nuclear assets getting into the hands of terrorist organisations operating from Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Antony said that South Asia was grappling with the problem of outbreak of terrorism.
“Various developments over the last few months in and around our neighbourhood, particularly in Pakistan and Afghanistan, have thrust South Asia to the centre-stage of sub-conventional conflict and instability,” he said.
The Defence Minister feared that nuclear weapons falling in to the hands of terrorists would have unimaginable consequences for the world.
Antony asked conventional Armed Forces to maintain edge over non-conventional players.
“Though territory related issues retain their primacy, other issues like historical differences, ideological biases, economic disparity, religious prejudices, energy security and water shortage are no less a contributing factor,” he said.
The strategic alliance between China and Pakistan has always been a cause of worry for India.
But New Delhi has now become extremely apprehensive about Sino-Pak ties as its own relations with Beijing have deteriorated considerably in the last couple of months.