NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday apologised to the country Prime Minister Manmohan Singh speaks during a discussion on Mumbai terror attacks, in Parliament House in New Delhi. for the government's inability to prevent the Mumbai attacks Prime Minister Manmohan Singh speaks during a discussion on Mumbai terror attacks, in Parliament House in New Delhi.
Making an intervention during the debate on the Mumbai attacks in Lok Sabha, Singh noted the action by Pakistan against Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Mohd Saeed but asserted that Islamabad needed to do "much more" to take things to logical conclusion and convince the world about its actions.
Outlining steps to gear up the country's security system to meet the "unprecedented threat", he said the government has decided to set up a National Investigation Agency, decentralise NSG, form more commando units, strengthen coastal security by making the Coast Guard the sole force responsible for it and step up air surveillance. "I apologise to the people of the country that this dastardly act could not be prevented," he said referring to the Mumbai strikes and acknowledged that acts of terrorism have witnessed an increase resulting in death of hundreds of citizens. Observing that the "epicentre of terrorism" is located in Pakistan, he underlined that the terror infrastructure in the neighbouring country must be dismantled and India cannot be "satisfied with mere assurances." Singh said India has so far exercised "utmost restraint" but it should "not be misconstrued as a sign of our weakness". Promising to have a comprehensive review of the security machinery of the country, Singh asserted that terrorism will be fought with determination to ensure that the scourge is destroyed from its roots. Declaring that "all means and measures" would be used to deal with terrorism, he said the government cannot "countenance a situation where safety and security of our citizens are violated with impunity by terrorists and other militant forces". The prime minister said the government's immediate priority was to restore a sense of security to the people of the country. The government has to work at three levels, he said. He identified these steps as galvanising the international community into dealing "sternly and effectively with the epicentre of terrorism, which is located in Pakistan", pressing Pakistan bilaterally to act against terrorists and prepare the country to meet "these kinds of assaults". Singh said the Mumbai incident had highlighted "gaps" in the country's preparedness to deal with these kinds of assaults and "we need to equip ourselves more effectively to deal with this unprecedented threat and challenge to our country's integrity and unity".
source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Pakistan_needs_to_do_more_Manmohan/articleshow/3824381.cms
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