'Pak's strategy averted Indian strike after 26/11'

Pakistan's sound strategy to ward off threats like a possible surgical strike by India had barred the "adversary" from opting for any "extreme option" in the wake of the Mumbai attacks, Pakistan's air force chief said on Saturday.

Asked during a news briefing about India's reported plans of carrying out surgical strikes in the wake of the 2008 Mumbai incident, Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman said the Pakistan Air Force had "immediately developed a strategy to counter the threat, which barred the adversary (from opting) for any extreme option".

"Our response time during such situations is from two to six minutes from the ground," he told the briefing held at the air headquarters here.

The "adversary did not dare to take any step" since it knew the capability of the PAF, he said.

The PAF is keeping a "watchful eye to safeguard the frontiers of the country" and effective systems are in place to cope with any situation, Suleman said.

Responding to another question, Suleman said the US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan "hardly commit any violation of Pakistan's airspace".

Pakistan has always strongly protested any airspace violation by the coalition forces, he added.

On the other hand, Pakistan and India reached a mutual agreement in 1991 not to enter the airspace 10 km from the border to avoid any violations, he said.

There is no threat from Pakistan's western border while a sizeable number of aircraft are continuously guarding the eastern border, Suleman said.