NEW DELHI, Sept 5:
IAF chief Arup Raha today said there was a threat from terror groups such as al-Qaeda but the country is ready to tackle such outfits.
“There is a threat perception from such agencies but the nation is prepared for it,” he said when asked about the al-Qaeda threat to start operations in India.
He was talking to reporters on the sidelines of a seminar on the role of Air Force in the 1965 war with Pakistan.
US media and intelligence agencies had said yesterday that al-Qaeda has established a new branch to wage jihad in India, revive its caliphate and impose sharia in the Indian sub-continent.
The creation of the group called “Qaedat al-Jihad in the Indian Subcontinent” was announced by As Sahab, al-Qaeda’s official media outlet, in a lengthy video posted on social media outlets.
Al-Qaeda is active in Afghanistan and Pakistan, but the group’s leader Ayman al Zawahiri said “Qaedat al-Jihad” would take the fight to India, Myanmar and Bangladesh.
Security agencies feel the video could be an attempt by al-Qaeda to carry out fresh recruitments in the sub-continent as it stares at diminishing influence vis-a-vis the ISIS.
Asked about the creation of infrastructure including Su-27 fighter bases and radar stations along the Line of Actual Control by China, Raha said such developments were taking place.
Addressing the seminar, Raha said the Air Force was developing four full-fledged air bases in Raipur in Chhatisgarh, Ojhar in Maharashtra and Kargil and Nyoma in Jammu and Kashmir.
He said as part of infrastructure development, the force was developing Advanced Landing Grounds in the northeast.
Raha said the induction of fighter aircraft such as Light Combat Aircraft, Medium-Multi-role Combat Aircraft and the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft will help in strengthening its capabilities.
Speaking about the 1965 war, Raha said the Pakistan Air Force had superior aircraft like the American F-104 and Sabre but the IAF thwarted its attempt to wrest Kashmir from India.
While the Indian Air Force, which had obsolete aircraft fleet, got involved in combat for the first time in Independent India during the 1965 war, the Pakistan Air Force had modern aircraft provided by the US, he noted.
The IAF chief said the issue of one rank one pension was under consideration of the Government as there were some differences in accounting financial implications of the project.
On the seventh pay commission, Raha said the forces have given their joint memorandum and the anomalies of the 6th pay commission will be done away with.
He said a request has been made to the Government and the pay commission to extend the tenure of the seventh pay commission so that if there are any anomalies or issues during its implementation, they can be dealt with by the panel. (PTI)
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