New Delhi: A time-bound security audit will be conducted for all “vulnerable” installations of armed forces, paramilitary and police, Government today announced after a high-level meeting here reviewed the situation in the country in the aftermath of the Pathankot terror attack.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh presided the meeting that was attended by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, NSA Ajit Doval and other top officials of security and intelligence agencies to discuss the take-aways from the January 2 terrorist attack on the air base.
The government said that “strengths” displayed by all the concerned agencies should be further built upon.
“In view of the continuing threats from hostile elements from across the border, the need to further upgrade both intelligence and preventive abilities specially in terms of technology was stressed.
“It was decided that the security audit of all vulnerable stations of armed forces, para-military forces and police would be carried out within a given time-frame,” a Home Ministry statement said.
Discussions were held on the means to further strengthen the prevention, detection and foiling of such dastardly attacks.
During the hour-long meeting, it was felt that once the intelligence input had been confirmed, the response time was quick enough, both in terms of decisions that were taken, and in deployment of forces.
It was also felt that many strengths displayed by all the concerned agencies, especially in terms of their synergised response needs not only to be commended, but also further built upon, the statement said.
The Ministers appreciated the work done by both the intelligence agencies in giving advance warning of the attack and of the security agencies, in effectively meeting the challenge and minimising the possible damage.
The Ministers also appreciated the bravery shown by the security forces in the incident and paid homage to those who sacrificed their lives.
The need to have a better media communication strategy was also felt. It was decided that in such incidents, media is best briefed by authorised persons on the spot and arrangements for this, including training, should be put in place to meet such contingencies, should they happen in the future, the statement said.
PTI
