Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today chaired a high-level meeting and discussed the Pathankot terror attack as he directed officials to speed up work on the leads given by India, sources said.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today chaired a high-level meeting and discussed the Pathankot terror attack as he directed officials to speed up work on the leads given by India, sources said.
“Issues pertaining to national and regional security were discussed during the meeting,” the Prime Minister’s Office here said in a brief statement.
The meeting was attended by Ishaq Dar, Minister for Finance; Nisar Ali Khan, Minister for Interior; Sartaj Aziz, Advisor on Foreign Affairs; Lt Gen (Retd) Nasser Khan Janjua, National Security Advisor; Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Foreign Secretary; Aftab Sultan, chief of Intelligence Bureau and other officials.

A source privy to the details said that the meeting discussed the Pathankot attack and the information shared so far by India. “The meeting decided to speed up work on the leads given by India,” he said on anonymity.
Another official said that the information provided by India was not enough as it was just limited to telephone numbers and Pakistan might ask for additional information.
“We would like to have solid information to build a case for action otherwise courts intervene and the suspects are bailed out,” he said.
He added the meeting agreed that strong action would be taken after probe against anyone found guilty of involvement in the attack.
The meeting came as India said it is waiting for “prompt and decisive action” as promised by Sharif to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a telephone call on Tuesday.
India has provided “specific and actionable information in this regard” to Pakistan.
Yesterday, Pakistan’s army chief Gen Raheel Sharif reaffirmed zero tolerance for terrorist organisations and took a detailed review of overall internal and external security situation in the country.
He made the remarks while presiding over the Corps Commander Conference held at General Headquarters, a statement issued by the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
In a pre-dawn attack on January 2, a group of heavily-armed Pakistani terrorists, suspected to be belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammed outfit, struck at the Air Force base in Punjab.

Pathankot attack: Pakistan reiterates support to India on probe

Rachna Khaira,Tribune News Service.Jalandhar, January 7

Taking cognisance of a news report, ‘Statues in memory of bravehearts gathering dust’, published in these columns on Wednesday pertaining to the dilapidated condition of war heroes’ statues in the city, the Army authorities today approached the Municipal Corporation Jalandhar (MCJ) and asked them to maintain the dignity of statues of their bravehearts in the city, who had laid their lives to protect the sovereignty of the nation.While informing this, Municipal Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Khehra said the Army authorities called him in the morning and asked him about the mechanism under which these memorials were being taken care of in the city.“Though we do not have any policy or mechanism to construct or maintain such memorials, I assured them that we will try to maintain the sanctity of such places. However, a mere cleaning of such memorials by the MC staff everyday will not serve the purpose. Rather, residents of local areas have to come forward to maintain the same,” Khehra said.He said though many people and social welfare organisations come forward and construct such memorials after every war or terrorist attack like the one at the Pathankot Air Force station recently, later they fail to maintain these and pass on the responsibility to the MC.While holding families of such war heroes also responsible for the dilapidated condition of these statues, Mayor Sunil Jyoti said though family members of several martyrs cross the memorial places everyday, they never bother to visit the spot and pay homage to their children’s sacrifice.“Except one or two families, none of the families even hold any event on the occasion of birth or death anniversaries of their kin. If they can’t hold the memories of their son after many years, how can they expect society to remember and keep on paying homage to their sons,” asks Mayor Sunil Jyoti.He added that besides asking various NGOs in the city to take care of martyrs’ statues, the MC would also get in touch with the District Defence Welfare Office for the maintenance of such statues.

Simran Sodhi,Tribune News Service,New Delhi, January 7

India today put the ball firmly in Pakistan’s court over the scheduled foreign secretary level talks. India made it clear that talks will go ahead only if Pakistan acts on the “actionable intelligence” provided to it.“The ball is in Pakistan’s court. The immediate issue is Pakistan’s response to the Pathankot attack and actionable intelligence provided to it,” official spokesperson of the ministry of external affairs Vikas Swarup said.India has provided evidence to Pakistan that the terrorists who attacked the Pathankot Air Force base were constantly in touch with their handlers in Pakistan. The evidence provided by India includes intercepts of phone calls made by the terrorists and the location of the numbers they had called in Pakistan. Sources said India had also identified the alleged handlers and demanded that action be taken against the leadership of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) before any talks between the two countries can take place.Swarup said Pakistan had assured India of prompt action against those involved or responsible for the attack. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif, who assured of prompt response,” Swarup said, adding that “we now await prompt and decisive action from the Pakistan Prime Minister”.While there are still eight days to go before the foreign secretary level talks are held in Islamabad, India seems to be weighing on the decision with each passing day. Sources in the government point out that the government would want the dialogue process to continue but some visible action by Pakistan against the perpetrators would have to be there for the process to continue.

India names JeM, its chief for Pathankot attack

• India has held Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar (pic) and the banned outfitresponsible for the Pathankot attack in evidence shared with Pakistan, sources said
• MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup refrained from naming any group, while confirming that “actionableintelligence” had been provided to Pakistan
• In Islamabad, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif onThursday chaired a high-level meeting and directedofficials to speed up work on the leads given by India

Handlers behind Pathankot attack identified

The Indian intelligence agencies have identified four handlers, including the Islamist militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar, who carried out the terror attacks in Pathankot. Ashfaq Ahmed, Haji Abdul Shakur and Kashim Jaan were the other three identified handlers. According to the intelligence sources, the attack was planned in Markaz, Pakistan.

Ball is in Pak’s court: MEA on Pathankot probe

short by Smrithin Satishan / 06:28 pm on 07 Jan 2016,Thursday

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Vikas Swarup on Thursday said Pakistan needs to decide how it acts against the perpetrators of Pathankot terror attack, adding that the “ball is in their court”. Swarup said the government’s stand over the issue is “very clear” and that India wants to have good relations with all its neighbours including Pakistan.

The attack started early on Saturday. Helicopters with night vision facility hovered above the base through the night and a fresh operation began Sunday morning

AP PHOTOIndian security forces patrol inside the air force base in Pathankot on Sunday.

Five terrorists, suspected to be from Pakistani, were killed in a gunfight that lasted nearly 15 hours after they breached a high-security security perimeter and entered a frontline Indian Air Force (IAF) base near Pathankot town in northern Punjab early on Saturday to carry out an attack, police said.

Here is what we know about the attack:

A pre-dawn attack

Gunshots rang out at the facility in Pathankot around 3.30am as the group of five men in army-style clothing — believed to be operatives of the Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist group — launched the daring operation. The attack came less than 24 hours after an alarm was sounded in the state over the assault of a top police officer by suspected Pakistani terrorists.

‘Attackers from Jaish-e-Mohammed’

A defence source said the terrorists from JeM, blamed for the December 2001 attack on Parliament that killed 11 people, had probably infiltrated about three days ago.

The attackers, with huge quantity of RDX in their possession, made their way to the base from the rear area where there is a jungle.

Security forces were put on high alert on Friday after Gurdaspur superintendent of police (headquarters) Salwinder Singh said he and his associates were kidnapped by five armed men in army fatigues.

Read: 4 terrorists, 3 IAF men killed in Pathankot air force base attack

How security forces fought back

The terrorists, who struck just a week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s unscheduled visit to Lahore, could not penetrate the defence cordon at the air base as they met with effective response from the security forces.

A team of 50 commandos of the National Security Guard (NSG) led the fight against the militants, a top security official said. The NSG commandos were flown to Pathankot on Friday night in view of a security threat after the abduction and thrashing of Singh by terrorists, who dodged security forces and escaped.

The NSG commandos were rushed to the air force base and the army cantonment at Mamoon after they arrived in Punjab, and a major search operation was launched. They were battle-ready when terrorists attacked the air force base.

The IAF used its two attack helicopters to assist the joint team of ground troops to neutralise the remaining terrorists.

Read: What makes Punjab’s Gurdaspur-Pathankot belt so vulnerable

The IAF facility

Pathankot — located at the tri-junction of Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh — has an army cantonment and the air force base, which is barely 10km from where Gurdaspur SP Singh was waylaid and assaulted.

The IAF facility is the base of MiG-21 fighter planes and Mi-25 attack helicopters of Air Force.

Punjab, again

In July, heavily armed men in army fatigues sprayed bullets on a moving bus and stormed Dinanagar police station in Gurdaspur district bordering Pakistan, killing six people and injuring eight.

The Punjab Police and security agencies were charged with a slow response during the Dinanagar terror attack.

The Pakistan angle

Saturday’s attack came close on the heels of an upswing in India-Pakistan ties after PM Modi made the surprise trip to Lahore last month and held talks with his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif.

Even before the gunfire had died down at the Pathankot airbase, people across India had begun asking the inevitable question: Would this brazen terror attack neutralise the bonhomie and gains generated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surprise visit to Lahore?

The question was not surprising, given the cycle that has accompanied almost every recent effort by Indian and Pakistani leaders to engage and move ahead with the fraught peace process – a grand gesture or a visit or some forward movement, and an outrageous terror attack meant to inflame and incite public opinion.

Several events that preceded the attack on the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot are definitely a cause for concern – the July attack, the ambush of a BSF convoy in Udhampur that resulted in the capture of a Pakistani member of the Lashkar-e-Taiba and evidence gathered by Indian intelligence agencies from the GPS devices used in both attacks.

“Pakistan is our neighbour and we want peace, but any terrorist attack on India will get a befitting response,” home minister Rajnath Singh said after the Pathankot attack.

Ravi Krishnan Khajuria & Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service,Jammu/ Srinagar, January 22

In the wake of intelligence inputs of possible attacks by Pakistani militants, the Army, Air Force and paramilitary forces have fortified their formations across Jammu and Kashmir ahead of Republic Day.Security has also been beefed up on the 198-km-long international border and Jammu-Pathankot national highway.A terror alert has been sounded across the Jammu region after the murder of a taxi driver at Kangra in Himachal Pradesh by three unidentified men, who escaped with the taxi. Additional nakas were laid on the Jammu-Punjab border and on the Dunera side of Basohli Bridge in Kathua district. “The CRPF this morning took control of border routes leading to garrison town of Samba. They have also set up random checkposts. The arrangement will remain in place till the Republic Day celebrations are over,” said an official source.In Samba, which has a brigade, the Army has intensified foot patrols while the BSF has laid ambushes at vulnerable stretches on the border. Samba, a major garrison town on the Jammu-Pathankot highway, has always remained on the terror radar of Pakistani militants and has been attacked in the past.“Samba garrison being in proximity of Indo-Pak International Border always runs the risk of getting attacked and post-Pathankot attack Samba Brigade is taking no chances. We have revisited our Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) that cannot be divulged,” an Army officer said. Intelligence inputs of possible fidayeen attacks and Peshwar varsity-like attacks has prompted security forces to go for a “near watertight” security grid.“All Army installations and units dotting the Jammu-Pathankot highway have been virtually declared out of bounds for civilians till Republic Day is over,” said an Army source.Consequently, the barricading has been strengthened at cantonments on the highway with additional concertina wires, he added.“We have also put up optimum deterrents in and around our cantonments because deterrents enable us to foil terror attacks. Our patrolling is on, ambushes are in place and CCTV surveillance has been enhanced,” he said.South of Jammu, the Army has asked its men to remain extra alert as there could be any mischief, including attacks by Pakistan’s Border Action Teams (BATs), an amalgam of Lashkar militants and Pakistani Army regulars.Security has also been heightened to unprecedented levels within and around the IAF Station in Jammu. In the summer capital of J&K too, the security forces are on their toes to ensure a peaceful Republic Day.This afternoon, security personnel in Kashmir went into a tizzy after an input that a suspected vehicle entered Srinagar from south Kashmir. A high alert was sounded and security men stepped up checking of vehicles across Srinagar, where security agencies have already tightened the security ahead of the Republic Day function.To avert any untoward incident, the J&K Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have stepped up round-the-clock patrolling in the city to keep an eye on the situation.In Kashmir, the main R-Day celebrations will be held at the Bakshi Stadium in Srinagar and the Police and CRPF have already started sanitising the areas around the stadium.A police officer associated with the security around the Bakshi stadium said they had carried out many search operations around the stadium. “Various nakas have been placed on the roads leading to the stadium to ensure a peaceful R-Day,” said the officer. He said a thick three-tier security cover would be thrown around the stadium in the coming days.J&K Director General of Police K Rajendra Kumar had already asked for the security review of venues for the R-Day functions across the region. “The security of venues for the functions at different places needs to be reviewed by all agencies concerned and synergy should be ensured to make the celebrations more secure and successful,” Kumar had said during a security review meeting.Not only in Srinagar but reports from various districts of North and South Kashmir said the security have also been enhanced around the venues and important installations.

Security stepped up at Army installations

• Army installations and units dotting the Jammu-Pathankot highway have been virtually declared out of bounds for civilians till Republic Day is over
• Barricading has been strengthened at cantonments on the highway with additional concertina wires

Alert in Valley as suspected vehicle enters Srinagar

• Security personnel in Kashmir went into a tizzy on Friday afternoon after an input that a suspected vehicle entered Srinagar from south Kashmir. A high alert was sounded and security men stepped up checking of vehicles across Srinagar.

IS threatens to expand war in Kashmir

Tribune News Service

Jammu, January 22

The Islamic State (IS) has threatened to expand its war against India and ‘reconquer Kashmir for Muslims from ‘the cow-worshipping Hindus’.In an interview published in the 13th issue of ‘Dabiq’ allegedly given by Hafiz Saeed Khan, the emir of Khorasan (Pak-Afghan area), the IS propaganda magazine has labelled the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) as an apostate and claimed that ‘specific arrangements have been made to expand the caliphate in the region’.The Khorasan region historically extends from the present day Iran to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and China.“It (Kashmir) had once been under the authority of Muslims along with the regions surrounding it. Afterwards, the secularist…the cow-worshiping Hindus and atheist Chinese conquered other nearby regions, as is the case in parts of Kashmir and Turkistan,” Saeed has reportedly said in the interview to the magazine.The news item referring to the interview has been carried out by several media outlets in India. This is the second time that the IS faction in the Af-Pak region has threatened to expand war in Kashmir and India.A few months ago, the group targeted the Pakistan army over exploiting various Islamic organisations on the issue of Kashmir for their personal interests.Though security agencies have so far ruled out any serious threat in Kashmir from the Islamic State, youths have been seen displaying the IS flags during protests in the Kashmir valley, worrying the security agencies and the state police.Security agencies also see this as an open threat and a challenge to the LeT and the Hizbul Mujahideen, operating in Kashmir and carrying out attacks against civilian and military targets since the eruption of insurgency in 1990.It could also fuel a sectarian conflict in Jammu and Kashmir as the IS follows an anti-Shia, Salafist ideology and has killed Shias and other ethnic groups in Syria and Iraq.

COUNTERING THREAT OF TERROR STRIKES ON R-DAY

Police hold meeting with Army, Air Force

PK Jaiswar,Tribune News Service,Amritsar, January 22

Following intelligence inputs regarding the suspected terror attacks in Punjab on Republic Day, the Punjab police have been on a high alert.The police are on their toes as the state-level function of Republic Day celebrations is being held in the holy city. A company of the Border Security Force (BSF) has already been provided to the city police while more companies of paramilitary forces are expected to arrive in the next couple of days. The police from other districts have been summoned to the city for security reasons.The security has been tightened after a taxi which was hired by three suspects in Kangra district in Himachal Pradesh went missing while the body of the driver was found from Kalta Bridge in Kangra. Three unidentified persons had hired the taxi from Pathankot. The Delhi police have issued an alert and posted the pictures of the three suspects on its social networking sites to find clues.According to the intelligence inputs, the Pakistan-based terrorists could strike at vital installations including railway stations and military installations on Republic Day.Following intelligence inputs, top-most cops have held a meeting with the Army authorities and officers of the IAF of the local air forcePolice Commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulakh confirmed the intelligence inputs regarding the terror threats which are doing the rounds. He said tight security had been maintained by the city police by holding regular nakas, carrying out checking drives and patrolling in and around the city. He said police officials of the neighbouring districts were also in close contact with the city police and all information pertaining to the security measures and alleged threats was being shared.He also confirmed the meeting with Army and Air Force officials, but did not divulge the details due to security concerns. It is learnt that security around the Army cantonments and the Air Force station and other vital institutions has been beefed up.The district administration and police officials today visited Guru Nanak Stadium where the state-level function would be held to overview the security arrangements. Besides Aulakh, among those visited the stadium included Deputy Commissioner Ravi Bhagat, ADC TPS Sandhu and ADCP Dhruman Nimbale.