PUNE: The Indian Army Chief of Staff (COAS) Gen. Deepak Kapoor said that it was extremely important for Pakistan to ensure that its nuclear weapons do not fall into the hands of rogues.
From the sidelines of a graduation function at the National Defense Academy (NDA) here on Sunday evening, Kapoor said: “Whosoever is in control of Pakistan’s nuclear assets should be in full control of the weapons. We are aware that Pakistan’s president has transferred the country’s nuclear controls to Prime Minister Yusaf Gilani on Saturday. It is not so much concern that the nuclear weapons control has been passed on to Prime Minister Gilani. But what is most important is that they have complete control of their nukes.”
Kapoor downplayed reports of Chinese weapons technology transfer to Pakistan and said Indian relations with China are good. Kapoor also said India must boost its infrastructure capabilities on its eastern front in the wake of China strengthening infrastructure in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR).
“We also need good relations with Beijing as our trade with China is growing in a number of sectors,” he added. Kapoor pointed out that border incursions at the Line of Control have increased in the past three months, “however, participation of large number of people in the recent electoral process in Jammu and Kashmir shows that there is stability in the region.”
Speaking on the issue of terrorist strikes, Kapoor said: “We cannot rule out the possibility of terror strike in the future. But the onus of national security doesn’t solely lie with law enforcement agencies, as the whole country needs to be security conscious and has to be a part of that process.”
