Chandigarh, July 13 (IANS) Home Minister P. Chidambaram Friday said the country needs to be vigilant to thwart the terror threat though there has been no terrorist incident in India this year so far.
"There has been no terror incident this year... Let me touch wood at the same time," Chidambaram told reporters here, adding that peace so far did not mean terror threat was over.
"We have to be vigilant," he said.
He said there were five terror incidents on an average every year before 2008.
Chidambaram was referring to one of India's biggest terror attacks in Mumbai on Nov 26, 2008, when 10 Pakistani terrorists sailed into the financial capital and killed 166 people, including foreigners, over three days of mayhem.
He took over the country's home minister soon after the Mumbai attack.
After that, he said, "We have had three major (terror) incidents" in India.
"Northeast has been the most peaceful last year... This year is more peaceful. In Jammu and Kashmir, we have had seven civilians killed this year. This is in single digit," he said.
The home minister said that Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed boom in tourism and already 900,000 tourists have visited the state this year.
"All of us should rejoice and pray that peace in Kashmir is durable."
Chidambaram, however, sounded caution on Maoist violence, saying it "is a problem".
"It is a difficult situation... We are pursuing two-pronged strategy... Development and police action," he said.
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