Security audit of vulnerable installations: Govt

A time-bound security audit will be conducted for all "vulnerable" installations of armed forces, paramilitary and police, the Government announced on Friday after a high-level meeting that reviewed the situation in the country in the aftermath of the Pathankot terror attack.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh presided over the meeting, which was attended by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and other top officials of security and intelligence agencies to discuss the take-aways from the January 2 attack on the airbase.

The government said "strengths" displayed by all agencies concerned should be further built upon. "In view of 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 timeframe," 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 agencies concerned, 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. Sources said the top brass of the country's security apparatus also took stock of various aspects of internal security and analysed intelligence inputs received in recent past.

Necessary instructions have been given to ensure security in all sensitive locations, border areas and major urban centres, including Delhi where the Republic Day's main function will be held with French President Francois Hollande as the chief guest. Chiefs of Intelligence Bureau and Research and Analysis Wing shared various inputs gathered by the two organisations while chief of National Investigation Agency briefed about the ongoing probe into the terror attack on Pathankot air base, the sources said.

Recent intelligence inputs have suggested that there could be 6 to 10 Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists who had crossed over to India from Pakistan through Punjab in recent past.