Anthony: India prepared to battle Taliban
NEW DELHI: Warning that the situation in Pakistan is "very serious", Defence Minister A K Antony said terrorism is "spreading" in that country and asserted that India is prepared to meet any challenge from Taliban militants.
"The situation in Pakistan is very serious and terrorism is spreading," he told reporters on the sidelines of the Territorial Army Day parade in New Delhi.
Asked if Talibans' threat to carry out attacks on India was a cause of concern, Antony said, "We are always prepared to meet any challenge to our territorial integrity and national security from any quarter. Our security forces are keeping eternal vigilance".
This reaction from the minister comes just day after Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud had threatened to dispatch terrorists to fight India, once an Islamic state had been created in Pakistan.
"We want an Islamic state. If we get that, then we will go to the borders and help fight the Indians," Hakimullah said in footage aired by Britain's Sky News channel.
Hakimullah was named the new chief of the Tehrik-e- Taliban Pakistan after his predecessor Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a US drone attack in Waziristan in August. Hakimullah recently met several reporters from the Mehsud clan to dispel reports that he had died in fighting with a rival militant faction.
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