2016 Pathankot attack

Last updated

2016 Pathankot attack
Location Pathankot AFS, Punjab, India
Coordinates 32°14′01″N75°38′04″E / 32.23361°N 75.63444°E / 32.23361; 75.63444
Date2–5 January 2016
Began at 03:30 (IST)
Target Indian Air Force
Attack type
 Suicide mission
Weapons AK-47, Grenades, Grenade launchers, Mortars, IED
Deaths12
(8 victims + 4 Terrorists) [1] [2]
1 civilian and
7 security personnel (5 Defence Security Corps personnel; 1 IAF Garud commando; 1 National Security Guard) [3] [4]
Injured25
VictimsOne civilian, Soldiers defending the base
Perpetrators
No. of participants
4
Defenders
Motive Islamic terrorism
India Punjab location map.svg
Airplane silhouette.svg
Pathankot Air Force Station
Red pog.svg
Chandigarh
Red pog.svg
Dina Nagar
class=notpageimage|
Pathankot Air Force Station shown in the map of Punjab near the Pakistani border, along with Dina Nagar and state capital Chandigarh.

On January 2 2016, 4 militants belonging to Islamic terrorist United Jihad Council [5] attacked the Indian Air Force's Pathankot Airbase, part of its Western Air Command.

Contents

Four attackers and two security forces personnel were killed in the initial battle, with an additional security force member dying from injuries hours later. [10] [11] The gun battle and the subsequent combing operation lasted about 17 hours on 2 January, resulting in five attackers and three security personnel dead. [12] [13] Further three soldiers died after being admitted to hospital with injuries, raising the death toll to six soldiers. [2] On 3 January, fresh gunshots were heard, and another security officer was killed by an IED explosion. [14] [15] The operation continued on 4 January, and a fifth attacker was confirmed killed. [16] Not until a final militant was reported killed on 5 January was the anti-militant operation declared over, though further searches continued for some time. [17]

The attack received wide international condemnation. [18] Though the United Jihad Council, a Kashmir-based militant group, claimed responsibility for the attack on 4 January, [5] the attackers, who were wearing Indian Army fatigues, [7] were subsequently suspected to belong to Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed, a group designated a terrorist organisation by India, the US, the UK and the UN. [19] [20]

The attack led to a breakdown in India-Pakistan relations, which remained largely unresolved as of September 2023. [21] Media reports suggested that the attack was an attempt to derail a fragile peace process meant to stabilise the deteriorated relations between India and Pakistan, as several pieces of evidence were found linking the attackers to Pakistan. [22] [23] [24] [25]

Shahid Latif, a senior Jaish-e-Mohammed commander and mastermind of the attack was assassinated by unknown gunmen on October 10 2023. [26] Latif, along with his brother and bodyguards, were targeted at dawn in a mosque in Daska, Pakistan. [27] [28] [29]

Background

On the night of 31 December 2015, at 9 pm, four men who had crossed the international border from Pakistan and reached the Indian side, stopped a taxi driver, Ikagar Singh, on the road. There was an attempt to hijack his car but he fought back leading to the hijackers killing him by slitting his throat. [30] The tyres of the hijacked car burst after covering some distance. [30] The armed men then proceeded to hijack 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. [31] [32] Later, the carjacking was reportedly linked to the attack; the carjackers did not recognise it as a police car since its lights were turned off. [7] [33]

The Punjab Police Department 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. [34] [35] Salwinder Singh had a chequered past, and his claims may have been dismissed due to his perceived unreliability. [36] 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. [37]

The attack

On the morning of 1 January 2016 at around 03:30  IST, at least six heavily armed people dressed in Indian Army uniforms breached the high-security perimeter [38] of the airbase in Pathankot. The infiltrators possibly hid, using the elephant grass in the perimeter of the campus before making the strike. [39] 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. [40]

Reports have arisen of someone inside the base assisting the infiltration by changing the angle of floodlights near the wall where the attacker entered. [41]

They entered the living quarters of the base, [42] but were prevented from entering the area where "high-value assets" are parked. [43] A senior police officer said the infiltrators "seemed to have jumped the wall and entered the base." [44] 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. [45]

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. [10] Fresh gunshots were heard in the subsequent combing operation indicating more attackers still at large. [10] 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. [46] 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. [47]

The National Highway 44 was sealed off as soon as news of the attack broke. [48] 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. [49] The attackers were aiming to destroy the aircraft and helicopters in the base, according to a call interception report. [13]

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. [38] Also among those who died in action on 3 January was Corporal Gursewak Singh, SC of the Garud Squadron. [lower-alpha 1] Around noon, it was discovered that two attackers were still at large in the airbase. [52] Security forces continued the operation on 4 January with reinforcements being deployed to the location. [53] A fifth attacker was confirmed killed later during the day. [16] [54] The neutralisation of the sixth attacker was reported at 4.15 PM on 5 January [17] 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. [55]

Analysis

Speculative reports by Times of India claimed that the people who carried out the attack in Pathankot had to be in regular touch with their handlers. Another report suggested that the two phone numbers to which calls were made by the attackers were from Pakistan. However, the dates could not confirm linkage with the live incident [56]

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," an official told the Times of India. [57] 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, supposed mastermind of Indian Airlines Flight IC-814 hijack case, are among four persons identified by Indian intelligence agencies as expected "handlers" behind the attack. The agencies found unreliable evidence that the conspiracy could have hatched near Lahore. Indian defense Minister Manohar Parrikar said there are indications that some of the materials used were made in Pakistan.

The details about potential involvement of these four persons have been agreed by Indian Government to be shared with Pakistan through proper channels, and India has pressed for stern action against them regardless of their active involvement in this current incident, 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. [58] [59] 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. [60] It was a way to draw back the defected groups of JeM who had turned against the Pakistani government after President Musharraf's U-turn in 2001 and direct them against India. [61] [62]

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. [63] [64] [65] [66] 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. [67] Firstpost published an article on similar lines highlighting past attacks and how they adversely affected India–Pakistan relations. [68] Research conducted by GreatGameIndia Magazine revealed that the Pathankot attack was related to the international drug mafia stretching from Afghanistan via Pakistan to India from where the drugs are shipped off to Dubai and Europe. [69]

Aftermath

After the attack, the nation's capital New 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. [70] 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 Swarna 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. [71] [72] Mumbai, the financial capital of the country, and Hindon Air Force Station, located on the outskirts of Delhi, were also put on high alert. [73] The Western Air Command of the Indian Air Force issued shoot-on-sight orders to all its bases in the wake of the attack. [74]

Following the attacks, the Indian and Pakistani governments both agreed to postpone scheduled diplomatic talks. [75] Pakistani authorities reportedly arrested several members of Jaish-e-Muhammad, [76] 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. [75] A five-member Pakistani investigation team was allowed to visit the air base on 28 March, [77] and remained for three days to collect evidence and conduct interviews with witnesses and survivors. Pakistani investigators stated the attack had been a false-flag attack staged by the Indian government to malign Pakistan. [78]

On 26 April, India and Pakistan resumed their long-postponed diplomatic talks in New Delhi, at which the Indian foreign secretary re-emphasised the need for concrete progress into both the Pathankot and Mumbai attack investigations; Pakistan responded with a statement mentioning it had discussed "all outstanding issues" during the talks. [79] On 3 May, the Standing Committee of the Ministry of Home Affairs, which had sent a delegation to Pathankot to investigate the attack, lambasted the central government for its poor state of preparedness and lack of effective communications between its intelligence agencies. The committee found that despite several advance warnings before the attack, no effective measures had been taken to act upon the intelligence. [78]

On 26 June, it was reported Pakistan "would consider" allowing an Indian investigation team to visit Pakistan to assist with investigations. [21] In August, Sushma Swaraj, the Indian Minister of External Affairs, categorically ruled out any prospects of further dialogue with Pakistan until it had taken steps on "the Pathankot terror attack," as "terror and talks cannot go hand-in-hand." [80]

Reactions

India

President Pranab Mukherjee 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 militants. [81]

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also 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." [82]

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." [83]

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. [84]

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. [85]

A parliamentary panel report tabled in parliament on 3 May declared that security cover at the airbase was not robust. It mentioned that the perimeter wall was poorly guarded and the base did not have a road around it for patrolling. [86]

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." [87] [88] 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. [89]

Other nations

Documentary

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Singh was posthumously honored with the Shaurya Chakra for meritorious action and extraordinary sacrifices in 2017 by the President of India. [50] [51]

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References

  1. ↑ "Forensics can't find human remains: Only 4 Pathankot attackers confirmed". 2 March 2016.
  2. 1 2 "4 Terrorists, 7880 Soldiers Killed in Pathankot Terror Attack: Live Updates". NDTV. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  3. ↑ "NSG Lieutenant Colonel Among 7 Martyred In Pathankot Attack, Funeral Today". ndtv.com. 4 January 2016.
  4. ↑ "Govt denies lapses in Pathankot op; unsure of number of terrorists involved". 3 January 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 Ashiq, Peerzada (4 January 2016). "United Jihad Council claims responsibility for Pathankot attack". The Hindu. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  6. ↑ "Jaish-e-Mohammed, the terror group behind the attack on Pathankot IAF base". 2 January 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 "LIVE: Terror attack at Pathankot Air Force base; 2 terrorist killed".
  8. ↑ "Pathankot Attack: Haryana Salutes Martyred Garud Commando". New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  9. ↑ PTI. "Pathankot Attack: Rs. 20 Lakh Compensation For Martyred Garud Commando". NDTV. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  10. 1 2 3 "LIVE Pathankot terror attack: High-level meeting between Manohar Parrikar, 3 Defence Chiefs and Ajit Doval begins". DNA India. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  11. ↑ Joseph, Josy (2 January 2016). "Terrorists storm air force base, first challenge to Modi's Pak outreach". The Hindu. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  12. ↑ "5 terrorists, 3 jawans killed in gunbattle at Air Force base in Punjab". TheHindu. 2 January 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  13. 1 2 "Attack on Punjab airbase foiled, five Jaish men killed in 17-hour gunfight". The Times of India. 3 January 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  14. ↑ "Pathankot attack: Fresh gunshots, blasts heard from inside air base, 3 injured". The Times of India. 3 January 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  15. ↑ "India Says Search for Attackers at Air Base Still Not Over". The New York Times. Pathankot. The Associated Press. 3 January 2016. Archived from the original on 6 January 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  16. 1 2 "Fifth terrorist killed, says NSG; combing operations underway at Pathankot airbase". Deccan Chronicle. 4 January 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2016.A 6th terrorist is also believed to have been killed.
  17. 1 2 Express Web Desk (5 January 2016). "Pathankot attack: Sixth terrorist neutralised". The Indian Express Online Media Pvt Ltd. Pathankot. The Indian Express. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  18. ↑ "Gunmen Killed in Pathankot, India, Air Base Attack". The New York Times. 3 January 2016.
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  20. ↑ "Pathankot attack: First terrorist was killed while he was climbing 10 meter high wall". The Indian Express. 2 January 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  21. 1 2 "Pakistan to consider India's request to probe Pathankot attack after Eid". The Indian Express. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  22. ↑ "Terrorist Attack on Pathankot, India: Very Bad, But, U.S. Will Promote Peace Talks by Modi Anyway". Forbes. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  23. ↑ "Anti-peace forces behind Pathankot terror attack, says Harsimrat". www.hindustantimes.com/. hindustantimes. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
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  25. ↑ Filkins, Dexter. "The Pakistani Dystopia". The New Yorker. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  26. ↑ "The Saga of Unknown Gunmen: US, Canada, UK, Czechia, PoK and Pakistan - The News Dispatcher". 18 December 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
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  28. ↑ "Pathankot attack mastermind Shahid Latif killed in Pakistan mosque". The Indian Express. 11 October 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  29. ↑ "2016 Pathankot attack handler Shahid Latif gunned down in Pakistan mosque". The Times of India. 12 October 2023. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  30. 1 2 "'A Cop Didn't Fight Pathankot Terrorists, My Brother Did'". NDTV.com. 6 January 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  31. ↑ "SP's vehicle hijacked by terrorists abandoned 500 m from airbase". The Indian Express. 2 January 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  32. ↑ "Pathankot attack: Blue beacon atop SP's hijacked SUV let terrorists speed past checkposts". The Indian Express. 3 January 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  33. ↑ "Pathankot terror attack: Enemies of humanity can't see India develop, says PM Modi". DNA India.
  34. ↑ Vijaita Singh (3 January 2016). "Pathankot terror attack: Puzzling delays, squandered chances and then gunshots". The Hindu.
  35. ↑ Sikdar, Shubhomoy (3 January 2016). "Exclusive: Pathankot terror witness' leads ignored, tortured instead". The Hindu: Mobile Edition.
  36. ↑ Chitleen K Sethi (11 January 2016). "Controversial cop Salwinder Singh in news mostly for wrong reasons". Hindustan Times Chandigarh. Retrieved 12 January 2016. Known for his "closeness" to Sucha Singh Langah, former Akali minister from Gurdaspur, Salwinder's other claim to fame, or rather infamy, has been his colourful "extra-curricular activities", for which he is facing two inquiries....In 1991, when he was training at the Punjab Police Academy, Phillaur, for promotion to the post of sub-inspector, other trainees recall that he allegedly got involved in a scandal with a woman employee in the principal's office. "But no action was taken against him. However, all other trainees had to bear the brunt of his actions," a fellow trainee said....Very soon, he became closely associated with Langah. The latter remained a minister twice in the Parkash Singh Badal cabinet, first in 1997-2002 and then in 2007-12. Last year, Langah was convicted and sentenced to three years' imprisonment by a Mohali court in a case of disproportionate assets, but the conviction was later suspended by the Punjab and Haryana high court. The ex-minister has a 100-acre farmhouse in the border belt, not very far from where the SP was travelling the night he was abducted....The complainants, five widows posted as constables in the SSP's office, were allegedly being harassed by SP (headquarters) Salwinder. They had been inducted into the police on compassionate grounds. "In their statements recorded by the anti-sexual harassment committee, they alleged that Salwinder used to ask them to call him at odd/late hours. He would offer to protect them in case they needed assistance and also offered to help them retain their positions in the SSP's office. When one of them rebuffed him, he transferred her and then offered to get her back," said Jatinder Singh Aulakh, police commissioner, Amritsar, who is a member of the committee. To make matters worse for the SP, a fact-finding inquiry was instituted by the Punjab DGP on January 8 after a Tanda-based woman accused Salwinder of bigamy. Dhanpreet Kaur, Hoshiarpur SSP, is conducting the probe. Tanda resident Karanjit Kaur claimed that she exchanged vows with Salwinder in a Jalandhar gurdwara in 1994 and has a son from the marriage. She alleged that he married her despite being already married.
  37. ↑ Chitleen K Sethi (9 January 2016). "Did a lost walkie-talkie save the day at Pathankot?". HindustanTimes, Chandigarh. Retrieved 12 January 2016. It seems a lost walkie-talkie or a handheld transceiver saved the Pathankot airbase from suffering large-scale damage. The transmitter, carried by the four terrorists who kidnapped the SP to use his vehicle to reach Pathankot, was left by mistake in the SP's car when they disembarked from the vehicle in the wee hours of 1 January. The transmitter was to be used to contact the other team of two (or more) terrorists within the base to launch a coordinated attack. A similar transmitter has been recovered from near the area where the two terrorists were killed. "The reason that the terrorists did not launch the attack even 24 hours after they arrived is because they could not contact the other team which was already inside the base or was to get in touch with them on arrival on the walkie-talkie," said a senior Punjab intelligence officer. This day-long wait by the terrorists gave ample time to security agencies to secure the base and call in additional forces to fight the terrorists.
    "During their conversation in the SP's vehicle they kept saying that their mission would be known to all by the morning, which means that they had planned to strike the minute they landed inside the base. But they did not attack till they were engaged by the security forces the next morning. It could well be because they could not get in touch with the other team," he added.
  38. 1 2 "Fresh blast at Pathankot air base, 3 jawans injured". The Times of India. 3 January 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  39. ↑ Jain, Bharti (5 January 2016). "Pathankot terror attack: 'Fidayeen came in batches, hid in grass'". The Times of India. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  40. ↑ "Probing Pathankot attack: Fence floodlights that didn't work, gaps in border patrol, patchy police response". 7 January 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2016. It was a nylon rope, looped from the ground up over the Pathankot Air Force Base's 11-foot-high perimeter wall and then down again. Little genius had been needed to pull off the feat: one member of the assault team had climbed up one of the eucalyptus trees growing along the fence, and bent it over with his weight on to the wall. Helping them was the dark – the floodlights in that stretch of the wall were not working that night. Hundreds of Defence Security Corps guards tasked with guarding that fence, the last line of defence for one of India's most vital forward bases, had failed to notice as the assault team lugged themselves, 50 kg of ammunition, 30 kg of grenades, and their assault weapons.
  41. ↑ "Behind the Pathankot breach, 3 lights turned upward and airbase staffer detained". The Indian Express. 8 January 2016.
  42. ↑ "Pathankot: Gunmen attack India air force base near Pakistan border". BBC News. 2 January 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  43. ↑ "Militants attack Pathankot air base, 7 dead". Reuters. 2 January 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  44. ↑ "Pathankot attack: Govt orders probe as questions surface". The Indian Express. 4 January 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  45. ↑ "Pathankot operation continues; 2 terrorists still holed up". Rediff. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  46. ↑ "Pathankot attack: IED explodes during combing ops; 3 more personnel die". Rediff. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  47. ↑ "Pathankot attack: Commonwealth gold medalist Fateh Singh martyred". The Times of India . 3 January 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  48. ↑ "Pathankot-Jammu highway sealed after terror attack". India Today. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
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  50. ↑ "Corporal Gursevak Singh awarded Shaurya Chakra posthumously". www.careerride.com. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  51. ↑ "Six Army personnel awarded Shaurya Chakra, one posthumously". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  52. ↑ Joseph, Josy (4 January 2016). "Terrorists in hiding spring a surprise". The Hindu. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  53. ↑ "Operation enters third day, more forces rushed to airbase". The Hindu. 3 January 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  54. ↑ "Five terrorists who attacked Pathankot air base killed, combing operations still on". India Today. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  55. ↑ "Pathankot attack: How 'Operation Dhangu' was won". The Times of India. 7 January 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  56. ↑ "+92 3000597212: Phone number of Pathankot attacker's 'ustaad' in Pakistan | India News - Times of India". The Times of India . 8 January 2016.
  57. ↑ "+92 3000597212: Phone number of Pathankot attacker's 'ustaad' in Pakistan". The Times of India . 8 January 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2018. A senior central agency officer, who is analysing the calls, confirmed that Ikaagar did not speak to any Pakistani number. "On this number, in fact, the terrorist is heard telling the attacker to kill the taxi driver," the official told TOI.
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  59. ↑ "abplive". Archived from the original on 8 January 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  60. ↑ "Pakistan's cross-border terrorism. The Pathankot attack" (PDF). efsas.org.
  61. ↑ C. Christine Fair, Bringing back the Dead: Why Pakistan Used the Jaishe-Mohammad to Attack an Indian Airbase, Huffington Post, 12 January 2016.
  62. ↑ Pathankot attack aimed at probing Modi govt's red lines: C Christine Fair, Business Standard, 9 January 2016.
  63. ↑ "Why the Pathankot op has gone on for so long - Rediff.com India News". Rediff.com. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
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  65. ↑ "How did terrorists enter so easily despite intel, ask experts". 3 January 2016.
  66. ↑ "Pathankot attack: Questions that were never asked about the terror strike - Firstpost". 18 January 2016.
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  72. ↑ "After Pathankot terror attack, major Indian cities on the edge". CNN IBN. New Delhi. 4 January 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
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  74. ↑ "Pathankot terror attack: Shoot-at-sight order at airbases". Indian Express. New Delhi. ENS. 4 February 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  75. 1 2 "Foreign secy. talks soon, India will help Pak probe on Pathankot attack". Hindustan Times. 14 January 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
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  77. ↑ "Pakistan team in India's Pathankot to investigate attack". BBC News. 29 March 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
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  81. ↑ "President Pranab Mukherjee condemns Pathankot terror attack". Economic Times. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  82. ↑ "Enemies of humanity carried out the attack in Pathankot, PM Narendra Modi says". The Times of India. 2 January 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
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  86. ↑ "Pathankot airbase security was not robust: Parliamentary panel". ABP Live. 3 May 2016.
  87. ↑ "Six IAF men killed as terrorists storm Indian air force base, Pakistan condemns attack". Dawn . 2 January 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  88. ↑ "Pak condemns Pathankot attack, says committed to eradicate terror". Hindustan Times . 3 January 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  89. ↑ "Pathankot terror attack Stop blaming us for attack, Pakistan tells India". The Asian Age. 4 January 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  90. ↑ "Afghan President Ghani calls Modi to brief on Indian consulate attack". The Hindu . 4 January 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  91. 1 2 3 "International community condemns Pathankot attack". Business Standard. 6 January 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
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  93. ↑ ""Ministério das Relações Exteriores - Nota 2: Atentado na Índia" (pt-br)". Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Brazil. 5 January 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  94. ↑ "Canada condemns attack on Pathankot airbase". Government of Canada. 7 January 2016. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  95. ↑ Aneja, Atul (4 January 2016). "China: Pathankot attacks aimed at disrupting India-Pakistan ties". The Hindu . Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  96. ↑ ""India - Attack against Pathankot base" (4 January 2016) (fr)". French Diplomacy: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development. 4 January 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  97. ↑ "Statement by a Federal Foreign Office Spokesperson on talks between India and Pakistan". Germany: Federal Foreign Office. 7 January 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  98. ↑ "France, Japan condemn Pathankot terror attack". Economic Times. 5 January 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  99. ↑ "The Maldives Condemns the terrorist attack on the Indian Air Force Base in Pathankot in India". Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Republic of Maldives. 6 January 2016. Archived from the original on 18 September 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  100. ↑ "Press Release on Message of Condolence from Rt. Hon. Prime Minister Mr. K. P. Sharma Oli to His Excellency Shri Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, today on the loss of precious lives in the terrorist attack on Pathankot airbase on 2nd January 2016". Government of Nepal: Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 6 January 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2016.[ permanent dead link ]
  101. ↑ "South Africa condemns attack on Indian Air Force base in Pathankot". PR Newswire. 7 January 2016. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  102. ↑ "Sri Lanka Condemns Pathankot Attack". The New Indian Express. 6 January 2016. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  103. ↑ "UK condemns attack in Pathankot". Gov.uk. 6 January 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  104. ↑ "Pakistan 'must' dismantle terror networks: Obama". The Hindu. 24 January 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  105. ↑ "U.S. for joint fight against terror". The Hindu . 4 January 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  106. ↑ "Pathankot attack: US expects Pakistan will take action against attackers". The Indian Express. 5 January 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  107. ↑ "Pathankot attack: John Kerry dials up Sharif, says Pathankot attack must not affect India-Pak dialogue". Firstpost. 10 January 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  108. ↑ "Special Operations : India 'Pathankot'". HISTORY TV18. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  109. ↑ "Special Ops India: History TV18 to present documentary on Pathankot airbase attack on June 25". Hindustan Times. 22 June 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
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