Government should take strategic view of activities in China and PoK: Ajit Doval

New Delhi: Government needs to take strategic view and congnisance of the ongoing activities by China and Pakistan in the PoK and be prepared for possible consequences, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval said on Saturday.

According to him, there are reports that there have been some construction work including roads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

"We have got to see its consequences particularly if it is passing through areas which are in PoK which is close to our border and actually that is our own territory. We should take it up and I think we have taken it up from time to time with China and Pakistan.

"And it is matter of which strategic view and strategic cognisance needs to be taken and I think Government should prepare itself for possible consequences," he said at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit.

The top intelligence official said economic growth of the country is key to be a secure nation.

"If India rises at the rate of say nine per cent or eight per cent of economic growth, India is totally safe. A country which has got such a huge market, which has got such a vast economic capabilities provides an opportunity. You will have international clout and it will be in the vested interests of the world to see that India is protected," he said.

He said the economic growth will also mean that there will be spare-able surplus for providing resources for defence forces, upgrading police forces, its technological development, for research and development works because of available funds and resources available.

"A strong economy is the surest thing to securing the country. We have to sustain very high economic growth rate," he said.

Doval said growth of only service sector will not be able to make the country secure, as "we have to see that manufacturing gets highest priority because that is the only thing that will be able to provide large number of jobs".

On the issue of ISIS and al Qaeda, he said not a single Muslim religious leader in the country has supported ISIS, which is a strong point of India.

"All of them have issued fatwas against it. They have said that it is unislamic. They have said it is wrong. They have given a very strong message to their community that it should not be done," he said.

He compared it with situation in France where community hardly provided any information to the police about the ISIS volunteers and even celebrated their death.

When asked about the number of Indians who have joined ISIS, Doval said, "I do not have any definite number and I think all numbers are very speculative."

He said there has been information about at least five or six cases where some youths have shown some inclination to join the ISIS.

"It were their parents who approached the police and the intelligence agencies and sought their help and assistance for preventing their wards from joining the ISIS," he said.

Doval said terror groups like ISIS and al Qaeda might be able to "bleed" the country through terror strikes causing human tragedies but its inherent strength is so strong that they will never be able to "degrade" it.

"This civilisational state has got tremendous capacity tremendous resilience to bear the losses. No other country will find that so many policemen have died in encounters against terrorism and the really doesn't matter... So they bleed us, they can create some human tragedies but if they think India will degrade, I don't think so," he said.