NEW DELHI: Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee released the first-ever Joint War Doctrine containing the fundamental principles by which to conduct joint operations by the three services.

Unveiled at the united commanders' conference here on Wednesday, the doctrine aims to enhance the joint war fighting capability of the armed forces and address the inadequacies experienced in the Kargil conflict with Pakistan.

"The doctrine is also a signal to potential adversaries that India is militarily well prepared and, by doing so, contributes to deterrence in the broadest sense," said senior officers.

It will complement the three service-specific doctrines and lead to a better understanding of the application of military power in a variety of situations. The document will be regularly reviewed to keep pace with emerging concepts and technologies. The review of higher management of defence by the Kargil Review Committee and the establishment of joint structures are the foundation of the joint doctrine, which sets out a clear set of principles and guidelines to address the challenges in coordinating different military forces towards a common objective.

Mr. Mukherjee noted the process of integration of the armed forces in the last four years and said the country's first tri-command at Andaman and Nicobar was functioning well. However, the armed forces should set tangible goals to ensure that the required pace of restructuring and transformation is maintained. "There is a need to evolve a road map towards furthering the process of joint commands so as to make resources available for modernisation," he said.

India-Pak relations

Though terrorism from across the border continued at regular intervals, the overall situation was more positive than a year ago. India-Pakistan relations witnessed notable progress in the two rounds of composite dialogue and third round was under way. "The decline in terrorism in the Valley is due to sustained efforts by the Army and paramilitary forces. No evidence is available to suggest that Pakistan has taken measures to completely dismantle the terrorist infrastructure. Therefore while it is necessary that we continue with all sincerity our dialogue process, we cannot become complacent in this regard," he said.

Nepal situation

The situation in Nepal had shown a positive turn after a long time and India was committed to resolving the political situation through dialogue.

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