'IAF always cautious and alert': Air Chief BS Dhanoa amid Indo-Pak tensions

Amid tensions between India and Pakistan over the revocation of special status to Jammu and Kashmir, Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa on Tuesday said that the Air Force is "cautious and alert" to face any eventuality on the border.

"We have seen their deployment. Indian Air Force is always cautious. We are responsible for air defence and we are always alert," Dhanoa told media persons here when asked about the situation at the Indo-Pak border.

He said that the Air Force is prepared "not only when any enemy fighter comes in but we also keep an eye on civilian aircraft so that incidents like Purulia airdrop do not happen".

Indian and Pakistani forces have exchanged heavy fire several times after the government repealed Article 370 of the Constitution which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the state into two Union Territories -- Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

There were also reports of military movement along the Line of Control (LoC) in Pakistan.

Army Chief General Bipin Rawat had last week termed the movement as "normal".

"Everybody took precautionary deployments and movement of precautionary resources and one should not be too concerned about them as they were normal," Rawat had said.

Pakistan Prime Minister had earlier this month threatened India, saying "incidents like Pulwama are bound to happen again and that Pakistan will fight till the last drop of blood if a war ensues".

Pakistan's ambassador to the US, Asad Majeed Khan, on August 12, said that his country might deploy troops from the Afghanistan border to the Kashmir frontier.