NEW DELHI, OCT 13: While the military take-over in Pakistan did not pose any threat to India, the country's armed forces were on ``extra alert'', Defence Minister George Fernandes said on Wednesday.``We do not visualise any threat except that at this point of time there is extra alert,'' Fernandes told reporters shortly after being sworn-in at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Reacting to the fast-paced developments in Pakistan, Army Chief General V P Malik said political instability in the neighbourhood ``is not a good thing for our security''. ``We have to watch the situation and have to be vigilant,'' he said commenting on the situation in Pakistan following the ouster of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif by Army Chief Gen Pervez Musharraf.
Asked if he foresaw any enhanced Pakistani military activity along the border, General Malik said, ``I don't anticipate any serious development''. Meanwhile, Air Chief A Y Tipnis said, ``We are watching the situation."
Replying to questions, Fernandes said while India wascelebrating the triumph of democracy, ``we are concerned about the people of Pakistan where democracy seems to be in peril''.
He hoped that things would get sorted out without much delay in Pakistan, adding, ``We wish the people of Pakistan well''.
Asked if there had been stepped-up activity along the Indo-Pak border, he said ``nothing unusual has been noticed''.
On future ties between the two countries, Fernandes said, ``it is really difficult to say how things will really fare (in Pakistan). Let the situation clear''.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.