PM emphasises need to step up security

Calling the deadly terror attacks in Mumbai as 8220;different8221; to all the previous terrorist strikes, PM Manmohan Singh accepted that 8220;much more8221; needed to be done to safeguard India8217;s internal security and announced a slew of measures to strengthen the country8217;s security environment.

Calling the deadly terror attacks in Mumbai as 8220;different8221; to all the previous terrorist strikes, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday accepted that 8220;much more8221; needed to be done to safeguard India8217;s internal security and announced a slew of measures to strengthen the country8217;s security environment.

Speaking at the start of the all-party meeting on Sunday evening, the Prime Minister also urged all political parties to build a consensus on what needed to be done to strengthen India8217;s capability to fight the terrorist threat.

8220;The terrorists and enemies of our nation must know that their actions unite rather than divide us,8221; he said.

The Prime Minister was speaking hours after Shivraj Patil resigned as Home Minister taking moral responsibility for all terrorist attacks that have happened in the country in recent times.

Though he did not touch upon Patil8217;s resignation, Manmohan Singh probably gave an indication why a change in the Home Ministry was necessary.

8220;We have had terrorist attacks before also. But this attack was different. It was an attack by highly trained and well-armed terrorists targeting our largest city. They came with the explicit aim of killing large numbers of innocent civilians, including foreign visitors. They sought to destroy some of the best-known symbols of our commercial capital,8221; he said.

Then he went on to elaborate on some of the measures that the Government was contemplating to do to secure the country from future attacks, many of which had been reported by The Indian Express on Sunday.

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8220;We are further strengthening maritime and air security for which measures have been initiated. This will involve the Navy, the Coast Guard and the coastal police, as well as the Air Force and the Civil Aviation Ministry.

8220;The National Security Guard, which is the principal anti-terrorist force of the country, will be given additional facilities and the size of the force is being augmented. Steps have also been initiated to establish another four NSG hubs in different parts of the country,8221; he said.

The Prime Minister also said the Government had finalised a set of legal measures to fight terrorism, based on the recommendations of the Administrative Reforms Commission, including the setting up of a Federal Investigating Agency.

8220;But clearly much more needs to be done and we are determined to take all necessary measures to overhaul the system,8221; he said.