STATE TIMES NEWS
Pathankot: After operations lasting three days, security forces on Monday killed two more Pakistani terrorists within the Pathankot Air Base with the government saying six of them have now been neutralised, but it was not clear whether all the intruders have been eliminated.
After Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday chaired a meeting of the National Security Council, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that bodies of four terrorists have been recovered and those of the remaining two will also be recovered.
The number of intruders had been put at six by officials in the last two days and the figures given by Jaitley implied that all of them have been eliminated. However, none in the government were prepared to say no more terrorists were inside the base or that the operation was over.
Combing and search operations were going on and that the operation will continue till “we are able to fully render the base safe”, NSG IG Maj Gen Dushant Singh said.
Jaitley, who attended the NSC meeting along with senior Cabinet Colleagues Sushma Swaraj and Manohar Parrikar, said that all the assets at the base were safe.
He said the security forces were able to confine the terrorists to the place where they intruded and kept at a “reasonable distance” from where the assets were located.
In the wake of the Pathankot attack as well as the strike on the Indian consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif in Afghanistan, both probably originating in Pakistan, indications were that next week’s scheduled visit by Foreign Secretary Jaishankar to Islamabad for talks will be put off. It is likely that National Security Advisors of the two countries may have an urgent meeting in the next few days after which a call would be taken on the Foreign Secretary-level talks.
Asked whether the Foreign Secretaries would meet as scheduled, Jaitley parried the question, remarking “The operations are still on. Let the operations be over. Then we will take decisions on these matters.”
NIA REGISTERS 3 CASES
New Delhi: NIA on Monday registered three cases to probe the entire conspiracy behind the strike at the IAF base in Pathankot in Punjab believed to have been carried out by Pakistan-based terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed.
The cases were initially registered by local police stations in Pathankot that were transferred and handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), a central probe agency that was set up after the audacious 26/11 Mumbai terror strike to probe all terror cases in the country.
The first case pertains to Superintendent of Police Salwant Singh’s abduction and the second that of killing of taxi driver Ikagar Singh. Both the cases were registered at Narot Jaimal Singh Police Station in Pathankot district.
The third and the main case, registered at Police Station Division No. 2 Pathankot, relates to the terrorist attack on the Air Force Station at Pathankot.
A 20-member team of NIA led by an Inspector General- ranking officer has been camping at Pathankot since January 2 to supervise the ongoing investigations.
An officer of the rank of Superintendent of Police has been appointed as the Chief Investigating Officer of the case.
The NIA registered the case under various sections of Indian Penal Code, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and Arms Act against unknown persons, official sources said.
The NIA will take over the evidence and custody of the bodies of terrorists once the Army and NSG give clearance that the Pathankot operation is over, the sources said.
The mandate of the NIA probe will include entry of the militants into India, killing of taxi driver Ikagar Singh, kidnapping of Superintendent of Police-rank officer of Punjab Police, who was later released and entry into the IAF campus, the sources said.
The sources said the investigators will also try and ascertain the conspiracy that was hatched on Pakistani soil by the terrorists and if possible find out the state and non- state actors in that country.
The NIA may also question or seek custodial interrogation of sacked IAF personnel Ranjith KK, a Leading Air Craftman (LAC) with IAF posted at Bathinda, who was arrested by Delhi Police for allegedly supplying information to ISI, they said.
