Nation better prepared to tackle 26/11-type attacks: Air Chief

On the eve of the second anniversary of the 26/11 terror attacks, IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal P V Naik today said the country was "now much better prepared" to tackle Mumbai-type strikes.
 
"The armed forces were prepared then (26/11) and even now there is no change (in readiness). But as a country, we are now much better prepared (to tackle Mumbai-type terror strikes)," Naik told reporters on sidelines of an event on O-Zone Depleting Substances here.

He was replying to queries on the armed forces' preparations to prevent Mumbai-style terror attacks.
 
On calls for dilution or withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Naik said he had no comments to offer, as it was a Home Ministry issue.

But, the IAF Chief said, he had already expressed his reservations on the matter earlier and there was no change in his stand on AFSPA now.
 
"I have no comments on this (AFSPA). It is a Home Ministry problem. I have expressed my reservations earlier and they have come out. There is no change in my stand," he said to a query.

Naik had a couple of months ago stated that the armed forces, when sent to disturbed areas to tackle situations in aid of the civil administration, needed legal protection to carry out a free and effective operation to bring the situation under control.