2016 Pathankot attack
On 2 January 2016, a heavily armed group attacked the Pathankot Air Force Station, part of the Western Air Command of the Indian Air Force. Four attackers and two security forces personnel were killed in the initial battle, with an additional security force member dying from injuries hours later, The gun battle and the subsequent combing operation lasted about 17 hours on 2 January, resulting in five attacks and three security personnel dead. The attackers, who were wearing Indian Army fatigues, were suspected to belong to Jaish-e-Mohammed, an Islamist militant group designated a terrorist organisation by India, the US, the UK and the UN. The attack was described as a terrorist incident in the Indian A further three soldiers died after being admitted to hospital with injuries, raising the death toll to six soldiers.On 3 January, fresh gunshots were heard, and another security officer was killed by an IED explosion. The operation continued on 4 January, and a fifth attacker was confirmed killed. The United Jihad Council claimed responsibility for the attack on 4 January.
Background
On the night of 31
December 2015, four men hijacked a multi-utility vehicle belonging to
Salwinder Singh, a superintendent of the Punjab Police, in Dinanagar.
In the process, they slit the throat of jeweller Rajesh Kumar, who
was later admitted to a hospital. The vehicle was found abandoned
about 500 metres away from the airbase. The attackers are also
suspected to have murdered Ikagar Singh, a civilian taxi driver,
before the hijacking.
The Punjab Police
refused to believe the abduction report provided by SP Salwinder
Singh after he was released by the attackers, and the other survivor,
Madan Gopal, was tortured by the police interrogators upon reporting
the incident. Salwinder Singh had a chequered past, and his claims
may have been dismissed due to his perceived unreliability. A
handheld walkie talkie, was left behind by the attackers in the
hijacked vehicle. It is speculated that its purpose was to aid
coordination between that group and the others already at the airport
and that the loss delayed the attack by twenty four hours.
The
attack
On the morning of 2
January 2016 at around 03:30 IST, at least six heavily-armed people
dressed in Indian Army uniforms breached the high-security perimeter
of the airbase in Pathankot. The infiltrators possibly hid, using the
elephant grass in the perimeter of the campus before making the
strike. A nylon rope found over the 3.4-metre-high (11-foot)
perimeter wall, looped from the ground up and then down again seemed
to indicate the mode of entry. It is speculated that one of the
attackers had climbed up one of the eucalyptus trees growing
alongside the fence: bent it over with his weight to land on the
wall. The floodlights in that stretch of the wall were apparently not
working that night, which facilitated the transfer of six attackers,
with some 50 kilograms (110 pounds) of ammunition, 30 kg (70 lb) of
grenades, and assault weapons.
Reports have arisen
of someone inside the base assisting the infiltration by changing the
angle of floodlights near the wall where the attacker entered.
They entered the
living quarters of the base, but were prevented from entering the
area where "high-value assets" are parked. A senior police
officer said the infiltrators "seemed to have jumped the wall
and entered the base." The attackers were able to move 400
metres into the base through a forested area, before they were
stopped by Garud commandos, about 700 metres away from the IAF
aircraft. The attackers were carrying grenade launchers, 52 mm
mortars, AK rifles and a GPS device.
On 2 January, four
attackers and 2 security forces personnel were killed in the initial
gun battle, with another security personnel dying from injuries hours
later. Fresh gunshots were heard in the subsequent combing operation
indicating more attackers still at large. Three additional security
personnel who were admitted to a hospital with severe injuries after
an improvised explosive device blast during combing operations died
on the night of 2 January 2016. Among those killed on 2 January was
Commonwealth shooting medalist Subedar Fateh Singh of the Dogra
Regiment who was then with the Defence Security Corps.
The Pathankot–Jammu
highway was sealed off as soon as news of the attack broke. According
to Indian intelligence officers, the attackers may have entered India
on 31 December 2015 along the banks of the Beas River which cuts
across the Pakistani border. The attackers were aiming to destroy the
aircraft and helicopters in the base, according to a call
interception report.
Gunshots were heard
on the morning of 3 January 2016, leading to speculation that more
attackers were still in the airbase. A fresh IED explosion on 3
January injured three National Security Guard personnel. A National
Security Guard officer who was injured during the blast died in a
hospital. Around noon, it was discovered that two attackers were
still at large in the airbase. Security forces continued the
operation on 4 January with reinforcements being deployed to the
location. A fifth attacker was confirmed killed later during the
day.The neutralisation of the sixth attacker was reported at 4.15 PM
On 5 January The operation launched by the Indian Army to neutralise
the attackers was called "Operation Dhangu" or "Dhangu
Suraksha", named after the place Dhangu where the base is
located.
Analysis
Reports claimed that
the people who carried out the attack in Pathankot were in regular
touch with their handlers. A report confirmed that the two phone
numbers to which calls were made by the attackers were from Pakistan.
According to the report, the first number probably belonged to the
mother of one of the militants made in order to intimate her of not
coming back home and taking care of herself, while the second one
belonged to one of the handlers of the attackers. Intelligence Bureau
officials told TOI that the attackers called their handler "ustaad"
while describing their positions inside Punjab after crossing over
from Pakistan.
The attackers called
a number at 21:12 on 31 December from the phone of taxi driver
Ikaagar Singh. Perpetrators also received four phone calls on Ikaagar
Singh’s number. “On this number, in fact, the terrorist is heard
telling the attacker to kill the taxi driver,”[citation needed] the
official told TOI. One of the attackers called up his mother in the
middle of attack from the mobile phone of jeweller who is a friend of
the Pathankot SP - Rajesh Verma. The call was made at around 08:30,
five hours after the attack was launched on the airbase.
Maulana Masood
Azhar, chief of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), and his brother Abdul Rauf
Asghar, mastermind of IC-814 hijack case, are among four persons
identified by Indian intelligence agencies as "handlers"
behind the attack. The agencies found evidence that the conspiracy
was hatched near Lahore. Indian defense Minister Manohar Parrikar
said there are indications that some of the materials used were made
in Pakistan.
The details of these
four persons have been shared with Pakistan through proper channels,
and India has pressed for stern action against them as a condition
for any future talks with Pakistan, the talk put on hold till a
viable action is done from Pakistan's end, the sources claimed.
Scholar Christine
Fair states that the Pakistan Army has launched the "refurbished"
Jaish-E-Mohammad to this attack, not only for the tactical benefit of
derailing the nascent peace process between India and Pakistan but
also for the larger strategic interests domestically and regionally.
It was a way to draw back the defected groups of JeM who had turned
against the Pakistani State after President Musharraf's U-turn in
2001 and direct them against India.
Questions were
raised about the lack of clear command structure within the security
forces, the long duration of the attack, high casualties, lack of
co-ordination between various units and premature statements claiming
the end of the attack in spite of receiving accurate intelligence
about the attack. Vikram Sood, the former head of India's foreign
intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), wrote an
article on Rediff.com citing examples of how terrorist attacks
occurred in India soon after peace talks took place between India and
Pakistan. Firstpost published an article on similar lines
highlighting past attacks and how they adversely affected
India–Pakistan relations.
An investigation
conducted by the Indian Express and involving multiple interviews
with various high-level military, paramilitary and police officials,
highlighted glaring deficiencies in security which had facilitated
the attackers, including trees, tall grass and shrubbery surrounding
the walls of the air base, personnel shortages in the BSF and Punjab
Police, a lack of fencing along 91 km. of the Indo-Pakistani border
and poor funding for rural police outposts which had forced the
curtailment of night patrols.
Aftermath
After the attack,
the nation's capital Delhi was put on high alert. Delhi Police
Special Cell received information that two people from a designated
terrorist group based in Kashmir known as Jaish-e-Mohammed had
entered the city. Security was tightened across the city, and
additional security personnel were added in view of Republic Day
Parade to be held on 26 January. New Delhi–Lucknow Shatabdi
Express, which left from Delhi, was stopped and checked thoroughly
after a bomb threat on 2 January. In another instance at the Mumbai
airport, a Turkish Airlines plane was ordered to return from the
runway to the parking area after an unclaimed mobile phone was found
on a seat. New boarding passes were distributed and passengers had to
undergo a full security check a second time before boarding the plane
again, causing a delay of four hours. The flight landed safely in
Istanbul. Mumbai, the financial capital of the country, and Hindon
Air Force Station, located on the outskirts of Delhi, were also put
on high alert.
Following the
attacks, the Indian and Pakistani governments both agreed to postpone
scheduled diplomatic talks until the end of January. kistani
authorities reportedly arrested several members of Jaish-e-Muhammad,
though not Masood Azhar, who was placed in protective detention. It
was reported that Azhar's exact location was being kept secret to
prevent any attempts by his followers to free him. Indian officials
agreed a special team from Pakistan could travel to India to assist
with the investigation.
Reactions
India
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi condemned the attack, saying, "Today, enemies of
humanity who can't see India progress tried to strike at our
strategic area, a prominent airbase at Pathankot. I appreciate our
armed forces and thank them for foiling our enemy's attempt."
President Pranab
Mukherjee also condemned the attack and sent condolences to the
families of soldiers who lost their lives. He also sent compliments
to soldiers for their valour and courage while fighting the
terrorists.
Minister of Home
Affairs Rajnath Singh said, "Pakistan is our neighbouring
country. We want good relations with not just Pakistan but with all
our neighbours. We also want peace, but if there is any terror attack
on India, we will give a befitting reply."
The attack was seen
as an attempt to undermine the India-Pakistan peace process. Almost
all major Indian newspapers published editorials advising the Indian
government to "stay the course" and not serve the purpose
of the attackers by stalling or suspending the peace dialogue with
Pakistan.
On 14 January,
several activists from the Hindu Sena,a right-wing Hindu nationalist
group, vandalised the Delhi offices of Pakistan International
Airlines. Shouting anti-Pakistani slogans, the activists reportedly
damaged computers and furniture. At least one of the activists was
arrested by police.
Pakistan
The Pakistan
Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a press release condemning the
attack and offered condolences. FO spokesman Qazi Khalilullah said.
"Building on the goodwill created during the recent high-level
contacts between the two countries, Pakistan remains committed to
partner with India as well as other countries in the region to
completely eradicate the menace of terrorism afflicting our region."
Pakistan also complained that India accused the Pakistani state of
the attack. Special assistant to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Irfan
Siddiqui, said, "India should understand that Pakistan itself
had been one of the greatest victims of terrorist attacks on its
soil." He regretted that only after a few terrorist attacks
India begins hurling baseless allegations. He advised India to review
its stance by further saying, "India should create an
environment of trust, as unfounded allegations only hamper the
process of dialogue." Former foreign secretary of Pakistan Riaz
Khokhar said, "India was trying to tarnish Pakistan’s image
and is using such attacks to derail talks. Pakistani news channel ARY
News reported today that "some arrests" have been made in
this regard but police did not confirm any arrest related to the
Pathankot attack, as per PTI.
"The
intelligence agencies have picked up some suspects from Bahawalpur on
the leads provided by India in Pathankot airbase attack and shifted
them to undisclosed location for interrogation," the news
channel reported.