Terrorism weapon of choice of non-state actors-Rajnath Singh

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said that terrorism has been employed as a weapon of choice by non-state actors and irresponsible states to advance their political objectives in the region.In an address at a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) seminar on the role of women in the armed forces, Singh said the concept of security is undergoing a "paradigm shift" and the member states of the grouping will have to deal with challenges like terrorism collectively.  The changing character of war is bringing threats from our borders to within our society and amongst the people. Terrorism is just the most obvious and diabolical manifestation of this reality,he said.

The defence minister said the SCO has rejected terrorism in all its manifestations, noting that women have been and will remain equal contributors in the fight against the menace."This fight cannot be won by half the population of our region or a country. Women have been and will remain equal contributors in this fight, both within the armed forces and beyond," he said. Singh also provided a brief overview of the role being played by women in the Indian armed forces. "We look forward to much greater participation and a bigger role of women in various tasks of the armed forces," he said..

In his address, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat said the character of a war has evolved from a predominantly conventional one to a hybrid and grey-zone warfare, adding that cyberspace and outer space are the new revolutionary domains of war fighting.The Chief of Defence Staff said women have proved their mettle in demanding combat roles such as fighter pilots, paratroopers, submariners and the like, and their abilities in the cognitive and information domains are unmatched.

Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs Reenat Sandhu said the past decades have opened up new vistas for women in the Indian armed forces and the women military officers have created a niche for themselves at the global level in UN peacekeeping missions.She said India created history in 2007 by deploying the first ever all-female Formed Police Unit (FPU) for UN Peacekeeping in Liberia.