Pakistan deploys fresh troops along LoC: Report

Amidst rising tensions with India, Pakistan has moved fresh Army troops to the Line of Control in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the international border with India to protect "vital points" along the frontier, a media report said on Friday.

The defence department declined to give details of fresh troop movements but did not deny reports that Pakistan was moving a number of new brigades to the frontier in the Lahore sector, the Daily Times newspaper reported quoting sources.

The forces were deployed along the LoC and the international border yesterday to protect vital points, the sources said.

The Pakistan Army's Brigade has been moved to forward areas in Lahore and army's 3rd Armoured Brigade, normally held in reserve, has been moved to Jhelum, the defence sources said claiming that there was a heavy concentration of Indian troops on the border.

The Pakistan Army's 10th and 11th Divisions have also been put on high alert and these forces have been stationed in areas facing Rajouri and Poonch sectors of Kashmir.

There have also been reports in the Pakistani media that the Pakistan Air Force is in a state of high alert and was conducting aerial surveillance of the Chashma power plant and other sensitive sites amidst fears of a possible surgical strike by India in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks.

In recent public comments, Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh have both ruled out a war between the two countries. India has been asking Pakistan to crack down on elements in the country which were linked to the Mumbai attacks that killed over 180 people.

Pakistan has said it is waiting for India to provide evidence to take forward its probe into the Mumbai incident.

Radar cover for entire coastline - India

Extra punch for Coast Guard

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Nine more Coast Guard stations coming

Capability to include offensive operations

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A.K.Antony

NEW DELHI: The government on Saturday cleared emergency purchases to add punch to the Coast Guard’s capability for surveillance and interception. A high-level meeting here, chaired by Defence Minister A.K. Antony, also approved nine more Coast Guard stations and radar coverage for the entire coastline. It identified vulnerable areas where additional ships and aircraft will be deployed.

Attended by Defence Secretary Vijay Singh, Coast Guard Director-General Vice Admiral Anil Chopra and Director-General (Acquisitions) Sashi Kant Sharma, the meeting took decisions that are the first in a series of steps to strengthen and overhaul homeland security.

This was the second meeting on reorienting the Coast Guard’s capabilities from surveillance and search and rescue to include offensive operations.

The Coast Guard will send a team abroad to evaluate purchase possibilities.

It was asked to lease or hire ships from the global market in the quickest possible time. Approval was accorded for acquisition of cutting-edge equipment and interceptor boats on a fast-track basis.

The proposal to set up additional Coast Guard Stations will be sent for Cabinet approval at the earliest.

The government is already evolving an integrated national emergency response system and looking at other measures including unmanned aerial vehicles for urban applications, a new generation of tactical weapons for the special forces such as handguns, communication systems and individual GPS systems.

Panel to be set up

PTI reports:

With the country’s 7,500-km coastline vulnerable to terrorist attacks, the Home Ministry has decided to set up a committee to go into the difficulties on account of fishing harbours within the port limits.

The panel will examine what could be done, taking into account fishermen’s livelihood issues, a Ministry official said.

Tight security as Mumbai hotels prepare to reopen

Doormen in white suits and black turbans greeted visitors to the Oberoi with a bow on the eve of the hotel's reopening three weeks after it was targeted in a militant rampage. Security was noticeably tighter as guards scanned bags and sniffer dogs patrolled the ground outside.

Armed policemen stood watch among bunkers of sandbags outside the entrance to the hotel's Trident portion, where the owners said 100 rooms would reopen on Sunday, just weeks after 10 militants stormed sites across India's financial capital.

Inside the Oberoi, private security guards manned all lobby entrances, passing bags through metal detectors and X-ray scanners. Journalists' ID cards were checked against a press list, and reporters and photographers were patted down by hand - a far cry from the relaxed atmosphere at the luxury Oberoi before the attacks.

Militants from the banned Pakistan-based group Lashkar-e-Taiba are accused of staging the attacks that killed 164 people over the course of a three-day siege and paralyzed much of the Mumbai. Nine of the alleged gunmen were killed, and one is in police custody.

Two of the most high-profile targets were the sleek, sea-front Oberoi and another luxury hotel, the majestic, 105-year-old historic Taj Mahal Palace and Tower.

With Christmas approaching, both hotels have rushed to reopen sections to guests - with tighter security. The Taj Mahal Group said the tower wing of its hotel would reopen with a ceremony on Sunday evening.

The main areas of the Oberoi and the Taj - left in tatters after shooting sprees and a 60-hour standoff with police - are expected to remain closed for months.

The Taj, gutted by fire and destroyed by grenades, remained dark Saturday even as Christmas trees festooned with lights twinkled outside the main entrance.

The Taj had stepped up security even before the Mumbai attacks, in response to a deadly car bombing at the Marriott in Islamabad, Pakistan, in September - primarily to prevent a similar attack. All cars underwent checks, and metal detectors were installed at all main entrances.

The gunmen, however, slipped in through a back entrance that did not have detectors, hotel officials have said.