Relations with Pakistan improving: Jaswant

Indian Army Chief General Joginder Jaswant Singh has said the relations with Pakistan were improving gradually with the initiation of confidence building measures between the two nuclear power countries.
General Singh, who is also the Chairman, Chiefs of Staffs Committee, was delivering an address on "Indian Armed Forces: Present and Future Perspectives" at the International Institute of Strategic Studies in Central London on Monday.
He said ceasefire on the Line of Control in Kashmir had been holding since 2003, while the two countries had established regular links through air, rail and bus services and the trade relations were also relatively smooth.
The Indian Chief of Army Staff said his country was an emerging economic power and its security needs had been tailored to protect its economic interests both at home and abroad. General Singh said the million-plus Indian Army as well as the Indian Air Force and Navy had embarked upon a modernisation drive to achieve the goals under its doctrines and concept as visualised by the political leadership.
He spoke of the counter insurgency operations in Indian Held Kashmir and the Northeast. General Singh claimed the situation in Kashmir was improving and the level of violence had gone down owing to "Iron fist, velvet glove" policy, which was paying dividend.
He said the Indian Army was cognisant of the human right violations in Kashmir and had taken steps to improve the situation. The Indian Army Chief said the relations with China were also improving and decision to hold joint military exercises pointed to this fact. However, he said negotiations were taking place to sort out the border dispute between the two countries.
With the defence budget increased to 21 billion dollars in the fiscal 2007-08, the head of the world's fourth largest standing Army spread over seven commands, said his country's vast defence establishments were capable of meeting its military needs indigenously but at the same time the country was not averse to joint production and purchase of new weapons from the external sources. Sir Hilary Synott, the former UK High Commissioner to Pakistan, acted as the moderator.