The Congress Sunday made public a report on national security by a task force headed by Lt Gen (retd) DS Hooda and said the issue was important but it would be "completely wrong" to say that it was dominating the poll narrative.

The party said the top three issues affecting the people were unemployment, farm distress and the security of people.

The Congress unveiled the report in the presence of senior Congress leaders P Chidambaram and Jairam Ramesh and said that its approach towards national security is "not ad hoc and not impulsive".

"The number one issue remains unemployment. The number two issue is farm distress and the number three issue is security of various sections of the people, women, Dalits, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, forest dwellers, journalists, academicians, NGOs," Chidambaram told reporters.

Asked whether this report, which has been made public during the Lok Sabha elections, is meant to change the narrative on national security, he said, "National security is an important aspect of the narrative. But to say that it is dominating the narrative is completely wrong." He said the Congress and its president Rahul Gandhi has been speaking about jobs, farm, distress and security of different sections of people every day during campaigning.

Chidambaram said the report is a broad outline of how to approach the issue of national security.

"We have taken several features of Lt Gen D S Hooda's plan (in the manifesto). These ideas will be implemented when we form our government. Our approach is not ad hoc, our approach is not impulsive. It is after a careful study and deliberation and necessary measures will be taken. Our interest is to protect India's national security," Chidambaram said.

Five pillars of national security

Hooda, while presenting the report, said there are five pillars of national security in the report. Assuring India its "rightful place" in global affairs, securing India's neighbourhood, peaceful resolution of internal conflicts like Jammu and Kashmir issue and ensuring "Jan Suraksha", the main goal of national security of protecting the people, he said.

"The fifth and final pillar of national security is strengthening our capabilities. We have drafted the report based on a roadmap for enhancing our hard power," Hooda said.

"Keeping in view the nature of future war fighting, there is a need to build up capabilities and ensure adequate budgetary support is available to the three services," said Hooda, who is credited with having led India's surgical strikes on terror camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in September 2016.

Key points from report

India must be prepared for unilateral, limited military actions against terror groups in Pakistan as it can be assured of peace only if it demonstrates its capability to defend national interests through the use of force, the report said.

The report stated that India's military preparedness will have to cater for a range of response options from surgical strikes to an all-out conflict as future conflicts will see an increased blurring between the tactical, operational and strategic levels of war.

The task force also called for long-term resolution to the difficult problem of conflict in Jammu and Kashmir and said serious efforts are required for countering radicalisation in the state.

The panel also called for cooperation with China and strengthening India's military preparedness through more budgetary allocation and modernisation in the defence sector.

"When required, India must also be prepared for unilateral, limited military actions against terror groups in Pakistan. "India must also not rule out dialogue with Pakistan. However, talks with Pakistan must be structured, and further progress must be based on visible results. India and Pakistan must also seriously engage on nuclear issues. Nuclear sabre rattling by Pakistan is a major hindrance to stability in South Asia," it states.

"We will only be assured of peace if we can visibly demonstrate our capability to defend our national interests through the use of force. Future conflicts will see an increased blurring between the tactical, operational and strategic levels of war. Our military preparedness will have to cater for a range of response options from surgical strikes to an all-out conflict," it said.

Noting that India-Pakistan relations are at a new low, the panel said Pakistan's attempts to bring India to the negotiating table by destabilising Kashmir have not only failed but also hardened India's stance. It said that international support to India's air strikes in Balakot has reinforced the policy on cross-border operations. "However, there is also no doubt that military actions carry the risk of escalation and this needs to be factored into our future plans," it said.

The report by Hooda stated that there is a need to have a sustained and long-term strategy to build consistent pressure on Pakistan to desist from supporting terror and diplomacy and economic isolation will play a large part in this strategy.

The task force felt that internal conflicts are a grave danger to India's national security, imposing enormous economic, political, human and social costs. It noted that despite successes on this front, the challenges remain particularly in Jammu and Kashmir, the Northeast and the Left-Wing Extremism-affected areas.

Terming the conflict in Jammu and Kashmir as India's "biggest internal security challenge", the report said the two key factors responsible for continuing strife in the state are constant support of Pakistan to terror activities in the state and the sense of anger and alienation among sections of the population in Kashmir valley.

"This is exacerbated by growing radicalisation," it said, adding that rise in number of local youths joining terror ranks is another worrying factor.

"The immediate focus should be on bringing calm to the streets and reducing violence levels in Kashmir. It is only after this that further steps can be taken for a long-term resolution to this difficult problem. And calm will come only if we deal with the people of Jammu and Kashmir with empathy and understanding.

"A well-thought-out surrender and rehabilitation policy could be an effective step in reversing the growing trend of locals joining terror ranks. Healing must begin from within the state," it said, calling for encouraging civil society to take the lead in this. The vexing problem of the displaced Kashmiri Pandit community must be squarely faced to find an honourable solution, it said.

"Killing terrorists is an integral part of military operations to ensure that the state does not descend into chaos. However, this is not the primary measure of success or conflict resolution. Serious efforts are required for countering radicalisation, it suggests.

It also called for the need to have better protective equipment, bulletproof vehicles, counter-IED technology, surveillance and early-warning devices, and strong garrison security, that needs to be made on priority.

The committee also said the nuclear command and control system should be hardened against cyber attacks and India needs to gradually start building up a missile defence system to protect major cities.

"We will only be assured of peace if we can visibly demonstrate our capability to defend our national interests through the use of force. Future conflicts will see an increased blurring between the tactical, operational and strategic levels of war. Our military preparedness will have to cater for a range of response options from surgical strikes to an all-out conflict," the report said.

The task force report said the current budgetary allocations for defence, tardy procurement procedures, existing force composition, and decision-making structures pose a serious challenge to force modernisation and measures need to be taken to overcome this.

(With PTI inputs)