Can't afford repeat of 26/11, says Army Chief

Noting that India has let those behind terror strikes like Parliament attack to get away, Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor said on Thursday said the country cannot afford to witness a repeat of 26/11 and it was time to say "no more" taking cue from the US and Indonesia.

He warned that South Asia would be under "constant and continuous threat of terrorism of asymmetric and fourth generation warfare" and pitched for creation of a national architecture of intelligence sharing to ward off attacks. "The US has not allowed a second 9/11 to happen, Indonesia has not allowed a second Bali-bombing to happen. India has allowed people to get away after the Parliament attack, Delhi blasts and finally the 26/11 incident. The time for all of us has come to say no more," Kapoor said at a CII seminar on national security.

The Army Chief said that the country cannot afford to "witness the repeat" of a 26/11-type attack. His comments came on a day when it was revealed that Lashkar-e-Taiba had been planning a 26/11-type attack in New Delhi, which had been foiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

General Kapoor emphasised the need for creation of a nationwide architecture for sharing of intelligence and security-related information as part of efforts to prevent any further terror strikes in the country. He said the earmarking of responsibilities of all the Ministries, agencies and departments was also a "mandatory step" for improving security. He also asked the civil society to come together to tackle security threats.