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Pakistan armed forces on high alert

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s armed forces are on a “high alert” and all leave of absence has been cancelled for troops on account of the tensions with India, military officials here told journalists on Friday.

Also, there were unconfirmed reports, quoting unnamed intelligence officials, that the Pakistan military had pulled out some soldiers from the border with Afghanistan and redeployed them in the east.

The reports are bound to cause alarm in Washington, which is seeking to prevent any adverse fallout of the India-Pakistan crisis on its “war on terror’ in Afghanistan.

The military officials told journalists that acting on reports about the Indian armed forces cancelling leave for soldiers until April and calling for a high alert to enable short-notice mobilisation, Pakistan had also cancelled leave for its troops and placed its armed forces on top alert.

The officials, who wished to remain unnamed, said they were keeping an eye out for any possible troop movement on the Indian side, and had meanwhile taken “minimum defensive measures” on their side. They did not explain what this meant.

As Pakistan’s civilian and military leadership continued to indicate that they anticipated a military threat from India, television channels gave wide coverage to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s meeting with the three services chiefs.

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