Indian troops are prepared to move at 'short notice' for deployment in Iraq if the government gives the nod, but it has been made clear they will operate under New Delhi's command and control, the country's Defence Intelligence Agency chief Lt Gen Kamal Davar said on Wednesday night.
"All battle procedures are in place for deployment if the government so desires," Davar told newspersons asserting the Indian Army had the capability to operate anywhere.
Asked if India could spare a large number of troops for such a deployment keeping in view the security situation along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast, the DIA chief said this was one of the main questions being evaluated by the government in connection with the US request for troops.
He said a large number of jihadi elements were still concentrated in launching pads in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir and there is no 'perceptible change' in the infiltration pattern across the LoC 'despite pronouncements from Islamabad and Washington'.
He did not rule out the possibility of some Al Qaeda terrorists operating in J&K given their links to outfits like the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad.
PTI
