Terror attack on Karachi naval base cause of concern: Antony

New Delhi, May 25: India today (May 25) said the terror attack on a naval base in Karachi was a cause of serious concern, particularly with regards to the safety of nuclear arsenal in Pakistan, but it does not want to overreact.

"Naturally it (nuclear arsenal) is a concern not only for us but for everybody," Defence Minister A K Antony told reporters after addressing a Naval Commander's Conference.

Antony was asked if India was worried about the safety of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal in the wake of the attack.

"Our services are taking all precautions and are ready round-the-clock. But at the same time we don't want to overreact," he said.

"Developments in Pakistan, specially in Karachi, are a matter of serious concern to us. We are closely monitoring the situation and are taking precautions also. We are concerned about the developments," Antony said.

"I can assure you that all the three services are taking necessary precautions and we are closely monitoring the situation. But at the same time, we thought we must avoid reacting publicly," he said.

The Defence Minister said, "Not only because of the situation in Pakistan, we are also always on the radar of the terrorists. It is not a new thing, and so our security forces are ever vigilant."

On the controversy surrounding Army Chief General V K Singh's date of birth, he said, "Government had sent a request to Attorney General through the Law Ministry. I can tell you that the AG has sent his opinion through the Law Minister and the Law Secretary." He said no public controversy should be made out of the issues concerned with the armed forces.

PTI