2016 Pathankot attack

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2016 Pathankot attack

Location Pathankot AFS, Punjab,
India
321401N 753804ECo
Coordin
ordinates: 321401N 75
ates
3804E
Date
25 January 2016
Began at 03:30 (IST)
Target
Indian Air Force
Attack Terrorism
type
Weapons AK-47, Grenades, IED
Deaths 6 attackers.[1]
1 civilian and
7 security personnel
(5 Defence Security
Corps personnel;
1 IAFGarud commando;
1 National Security Guard)[2]
Non20 (8 IAF and 12 National
fatal
Security Guard)[3]
injuries
Victims One civilian, Soldiers
defending the base
Perpetra United Jihad
tors
Council(claimed)[4]
Assailant 6 attackers (possibly more)
s
Suspecte Jaish-e-Mohammed[5]

d
perpetra
tors
Defender

Punjab Police

Defence Security
Corps

Indian Army

Indian Air Force

National Security
Guard[6]

Garud Commando
Force[7][8]
[show]

v
t
e

Terrorist attacks in India (since 2001)

Pathankot Air Force Station

Chandigarh

Dina Nagar
Pathankot Air Force Station shown in the map of Punjab near the
Pakistani border, along with Dina Nagar and state capital Chandigarh.
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 member dying from injuries
[2][9]
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.

[10][11]

The attackers, who

[6]

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.
[12][13]
[2][6][14]
[15]
The attack was described as a terrorist incident in the Indian
and foreign media.
[16][17][18][19][20][21]

A further three soldiers who were admitted to hospital with injuries died, raising the death toll to
[1]
six soldiers. On 3 January, fresh gunshots were heard, and another security officer was killed
by an IED explosion.
confirmed killed.

[24]

[22][23]

The operation continued on 4 January, and a fifth attacker was

TheUnited Jihad Council claimed responsibility for the attack on 4 January.

[4]

The hijacking of a car of a superintendent of the Punjab Police the previous day was reportedly
linked to the attack. People hijacked his car for transport. They did not know that it was a police
[5][6]
car since the police lights were off.
Media reports suggested that the attack was an attempt
to derail a fragile peace process meant to stabilise the deteriorated relations between India and
[25][26][27]
Pakistan, as several pieces of evidence were found linking the attackers to Pakistan.
[28]

In Mid-January, Pakistan made the arrests of several members of the Jaish-e-Mohammed,

which India suspects of involvement in attack.

[29]

Contents
[hide]

1Background

2The attack

3Analysis

4Aftermath

5Reactions

5.1India

5.2Pakistan

5.3Other nations

6References

Background[edit]
On the night of 31 December 2015, four men hijacked a multi-utility vehicle belonging to
Salwinder Singh, a superintendent of the Punjab Police, inDinanagar. In the process, they slit
the throat of jeweller Rajesh Kumar, who was later admitted to a hospital. The vehicle was found
[30]
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.

[31]

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
[32][33]
police interrogators upon reporting the incident.
Salwinder Singh had a chequered past,
[34]

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
[35]
loss delayed the attack by twenty four hours.

The attack[edit]
On the morning of 2 January 2016 at around 03:30 IST, at least six heavily-armed people
[36]
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
[37]
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
[38]
assault weapons.
Reports have arisen of someone inside the base assisting the infiltration by changing the angle
[39]
of floodlights near the wall where the attacker entered.
They entered the living quarters of the base,
where "high-value assets" are parked.

[41]

[40]

but were prevented from entering the area

A senior police officer said the infiltrators "seemed to

[42]

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 Garudcommandos, about

700 metres away from the IAF aircraft. The attackers were carrying grenade launchers, 52 mm
[43]
mortars, AK rifles and a GPS device.
On 2 January, four attackers and 2 security forces personnel were killed in the initial gun battle,
[2]
with another security personnel dying from injuries hours later. Fresh gunshots were heard in
[2]

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.
[44]
Among those killed on 2 January was Commonwealth shooting medalist Subedar Fateh
[45]

Singh of the Dogra Regiment who was then with theDefence Security Corps.

The PathankotJammu highway was sealed off as soon as news of the attack broke.
[46]
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.
[47]
The attackers were aiming to destroy the aircraft and helicopters in the base, according to a
call interception report.

[11]

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
[36]
died in a hospital.
Around noon, it was discovered that two attackers were still at large in the
airbase.

[48]

Security forces continued the operation on 4 January with reinforcements being

deployed to the location.

[49]

A fifth attacker was confirmed killed later during the day.

[50][24]

The

[51]

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
[52]
"Dhangu Suraksha", named after the place Dhangu where the base is located.

Analysis[edit]
Reports claimed that the people who carried out the attack in Pathankot were in regular touch
with their Pakistani handlers. A report revealed 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, 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 Ikrar Singhs number. On this number, in
[citation needed]
fact, the terrorist is heard telling the attacker to kill the taxi driver,
the official told
TOI. One of the attackers called up his mother in the middle of attack from the mobile phone of
jeweller 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, 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,
[53][54]
the sources claimed.

Aftermath[edit]
After the attack, the nation's capital Delhi was put on high alert. Delhi Police Special Cells
received information that two people from a designated terrorist group based in Kashmir known
[55]
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 DelhiLucknow 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,
[56][57]
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
[58]
put on high alert.
Following the attacks, the Indian and Pakistani governments both agreed to postpone
[59]
scheduled diplomatic talks until the end of January.
Pakistani 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
[59]
could travel to India to assist with the investigation.
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
[60][61][62][63]
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
[64]
Pakistan.
Firstpost published an article on similar lines highlighting past attacks and how they
[65]

adversely affected IndiaPakistan relations.

Reactions[edit]
India[edit]
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
[66]
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
[67]
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
[68]
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
[69]
with Pakistan.
On 14 January, several activists from the Hindu Sena, an extreme 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
[70]
was arrested by police.

Pakistan[edit]
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
[71][72]
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 Pakistans 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.
[73]

"