New Delhi: War clouds are still hovering over the subcontinent following the Mumbai terror attack despite the Indian political leadership publicly playing down the military option.
Defence Minister AK Antony on Thursday reviewed the security situation at a meeting with the three Service chiefs and senior Defence Ministry officials where he was briefed on the preparedness of the defence forces in the event of an Indo-Pak conflict.
"Defence Minister today held a meeting with the chiefs of the three Services and the Defence Secretary to review the overall security situation and to take stock of the state of preparedness of the armed forces," a Defence Ministry official was quoted as saying by PTI.
According to defence ministry officials directions to speed up the acquisition of critical equipment and weapons for the defence forces are expected to be issued shortly.
"The position with regard to certain critical equipment and the status of ongoing acquisition was reviewed in detail," the official said.
Sources said the acquisition of defence equipment is now expected to be hastened keeping in mind the urgent needs of the security forces.
The meeting also reviewed the security of coastal and offshore assets. A mechanism for proper analysis and follow-up on intelligence inputs is expected to be put in place soon. The issue is likely to come up again when a meeting on coastal security is held on Saturday.
"Security of vital coastal and offshore assets was discussed with a view to ensure that these remained fully secure," a source said.
During the meeting today, intelligence sharing among the security agencies came up for discussion and the Defence Minister stressed on the importance of coordinated intelligence among various forces.
"Intelligence sharing was one area, which was found wanting during the Mumbai terror attacks, was discussed and the Minister called for a coordinated and better sharing of intelligence between the security forces," the official said.
The Defence Minister asked the three chiefs to put a suitable mechanism in place to ensure proper analysis and follow-up of all relevant inputs relating to the security of the country, they said.
The Navy and the Coast Guard had come under attack for not acting on the inputs provided by intelligence agencies about the ship used by the terrorists to enter Indian waters and attack designated targets in the financial capital of the country.
After the attacks last month, the Defence Minister has held a series of meetings with the three Services chiefs and senior officials to discuss the security scenario in the country.
(With inputs from PTI)
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