The early morning terrorist attack on Air Force Base in Pathankot, where two IAF personnel and four attackers were killed, on Saturday comes after an Superintendent of Police and to others were kidnapped, thrashed and their vehicle taken by ‘four armed men in military fatigue’. The Pathankot attack comes six months after another terror strike where suspected Pakistani terrorists had sprayed bullets on a moving bus and stormed Dinanagar police station in Gurdaspur district bordering Pakistan, killing six people and injuring eight. The terrorists were shot dead after a 12-hour long gun battle. The terrorists on Saturday followed the same pattern of attack on the air base as they did in Dinanagar. Both the attacks came weeks after meetings between Indian and Pakistani Prime Ministers and warmth in the relations between the two countries. The Pathankot attack came close on the heels of an upswing in India-Pakistan ties after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a surprise trip to Lahore last month and held talks with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif. The attack in Gurdaspur came after Modi and Sharif met in the Russian city of Ufa and agreed to explore ways to pursue peace talks stalled for more than two years between the two countries. The Pakistan supported terror machine from across the border is capable of springing surprise once again, this is what they have proved. A dangerous trend. The militants sneaked into Punjab early morning and headed to some designated target which could have been Jammu and Kashmir. Since vigil on all the entry points especially on the J and K border has been strengthened, the militants must be trying to open new infiltration points. The Pathankot-Jammu Highway runs almost parallel to the International Border, hence making it relatively easy for launching of attacks from across the border. The proximity of entry point, near Jammu and Kashmir border along the Punjab border, give credence to the theory that this belt remains vulnerable to terrorist attack.
