Surprised, not concerned by Indian defence minister's statement: foreign adviser

Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Hossain said today that he was surprised by the statement made by Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

"I have become surprised, not concerned by the statement," he told reporters at the foreign ministry today.

At an event in Lucknow on September 5, Singh said India's armed forces need to be prepared for war in order to preserve peace.

Rajnath asked the country's top military leadership to analyse the current situation in Bangladesh and the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas conflicts, predict problems that India may face in the future and stay prepared to deal with the "unexpected".

Presiding over the maiden Joint Commanders' Conference in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, on the second and final day of India's top-level military leadership meeting, Rajnath "emphasised on the need of a broader and deeper analysis by the top military leadership in view of the situation along the northern border and the happenings in neighbouring countries which are posing a challenge to peace and stability in the region," according to a statement of India's defence ministry.

Asked about this, Touhid Hossain said, "I don't find any reason why he made such a comment."

Touhid said he in no way thought that there was any possibility of a war or conflict with India.

He said it was important to understand if Rajnath Singh made the comment for domestic consumption.

"His statement is like beating around the bush."

There is no reason for India to be prepared for the Rusia-Ukraine war. It is not fathomable how the Hamas and Ukraine issues are comparable to that of Bangladesh, he said.

"We will see why he made the statement."