New Delhi, Jan 14 : Army chief General Deepak Kapoor today said the country should always be war ready, considering the fragility of the region.

Addressing a gathering of army officials here, General Deepak Kapoor said the country should always maintain a high-level of combat readiness to meet any emergency.

He also added that India''s conventional strength needed to be backed by a declaratory policy underlining the intent to use the strength in order to deter emerging threats.

"We live in troubled times and in a fragile region and as such the possibility of a conflict, a conventional conflict, though marginal, cannot be ruled out. Accordingly our operational preparedness must ensure that we maintain high levels of combat readiness at all times to meet any envisage emergency. Moreover our conventional strength needs to be backed by a declaratory policy underlining the intent to use the strength in order to deter emerging threats," said General Deepak Kapoor.

The security forces have been on high alert since the Mumbai terror attacks in November.

Though India and Pakistan have stepped up vigilance on either side of the border, both countries have ruled out the possibility of war.

India has presented a dossier of material to Pakistan earlier this week, which included a confession from Ajmal Kasab, the lone militant caught alive, details of communications links with "elements in Pakistan", and data retrieved from GPS and satellite phones.

New Delhi wants Islamabad to investigate fully the leads in the dossier and help to bring those responsible for planning and coordinating the attacks to justice. (ANI)