IANS
PATHANKOT, JANUARY 5
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar admitted on Tuesday that “security lapses” led to the terrorist attack on the IAF base here that left seven security personnel and six terrorists dead.
Parrikar also told the media after visiting the base that combing operations were still going on but “this is only for safety purposes” and that no more terrorists were believed hidden in the huge complex.
Some gaps led to security lapses, leading to the pre-dawn terror attack on Saturday, the minister said. He did not elaborate.
“What is worrying is how they (terrorists) entered the base,” he added.
Parrikar visited the Pathankot Indian Air Force base in Punjab on Tuesday along with the chiefs of the army and air force.
The head of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the audacious terrorist strike, also visited the base separately.
“Combing operations are (still) going on,” Parrikar said. “This is only for safety purposes.”
He said the body of one of the terrorists still had a suicide vest, with a grenade sticking out.
“I am very, very clear that they (our officers) should not take any risk,” he said, recalling how a National Security Guard (NSG) officer lost his life earlier while trying to reportedly shift a similar body.
Parrikar admitted that the entire operation “is a very difficult” one.
“It is tedious. This has been done without compromising any assets... Not just the strategic assets but even a building.”
He said barring one building where the terrorists took shelter, no other building was even damaged because the security personnel managed to corner the raiders in a corner of the sprawling base.
He said the terrorists had AK-47 rifles, pistols, Swiss knives, commando knives besides 40-50 kg of bullets. They also had improvised mortars. “They had high quality explosives.”
The minister said the NIA had started investigation into the attack. He said it would find out “who sent them”.
“They have got initial leads, where they have come from, how they have come.”
Sharif promises Modi to act against Pathankot attackers
Dialling Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Sri Lanka, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday promised “prompt and decision action” against terrorists linked to the attack on the IAF base in Pathankot in Punjab.
Sharif gave the assurance after New Delhi provided “specific and actionable information” to Islamabad regarding the terrorists, and Modi underlined the need for Pakistan to take “firm and immediate action” against organisations and individuals responsible for the attack.
The Sharif-Modi telephonic conversation followed the killing of all six terrorists believed to be from Pakistan after they attacked the Indian Air Force base early on Saturday, leaving seven security personnel dead.
An official statement said Modi got a call in the afternoon from Sharif “regarding the terrorist attack on the Pathankot air base”.
“Modi strongly emphasised the need for Pakistan to take firm and immediate action against the organisations and individuals responsible for and linked to the Pathankot terrorist attack,” the statement said.
It said specific and actionable information in this regard has been provided to Pakistan.
“Sharif assured Modi that his government would take prompt and decisive action against the terrorists,” it added.
This was their first known conversation since Modi dramatically flew into Lahore on Christmas Day while returning home from Kabul and spent some two hours with Sharif.
Radio Pakistan reported that Sharif telephoned Modi “and conveyed sorrow and grief on the losses in (the) Pathankot terror attack”.
It quoted Sharif as saying that terrorists always tried to derail the process of peace between the two countries.
“Pakistan will investigate in detail on the leads and information provided by the government of India,” it said.
The two prime ministers also showed a resolve to battle terrorism together through mutual cooperation, Radio Pakistan added.
The Nation, a Pakistani newspaper, quoted Sharif as saying: “We are with India in this hard time and will assist in any way possible... We will investigate according to information given by India.”
Sharif and Modi also discussed other strategic issues, it added.
Modi’s Lahore visit came after a series of diplomatic engagements between New Delhi and Islamabad.
The two leaders had a seemingly impromptu meeting on November 30 at the Paris climate summit.
On December 6, Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his Pakistani counterpart Naseer Khan Janjua met in Bangkok.
Two days later, Sushma Swaraj landed in Islamabad to attend the Heart of Asia conference on Afghanistan.
