Punjab chief minister Prakash Singh Badal, who runs the state government coalition with ruling national party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), blamed the federal government, saying terrorism and militancy are “national” problems.
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Indian security forces were on Monday battling an attack on a police station near the Pakistan border in which at least five people have been killed. The Army and NSG were placed on standby to support the Punjab Police operations.
All three terrorists were killed by the special units of the Punjab Police after fierce gunbattle lasting over 11 hours.
Indian police sources also claimed that the attackers entered from Pakistan two days ago. Punjab Police IG, SSP, DIG, intelligence officers are among the senior police officers present at the spot.
Dinanagar town, which is just 12 km from the India-Pakistan border, is located 25 km from the Jammu and Kashmir border and 235 km from Chandigarh.
Indian television news channels were flashing the images of the abandoned white auto next to the police station with bullet holes conspicuous on its wind shield.
“As the facts from Gurdaspur emerge in the days ahead, Pakistan could extend its full cooperation in the investigation – if the facts do point to a role in Gurdaspur of elements operating from Pakistani soil”. They then shot dead the roadside vendor near the Dinanagar bypass and opened fire on a passenger bus before storming the Dinanagar police station.
A policeman injured in the attack told reporters: “We were hit by a burst of gunfire suddenly”. Meanwhile, talking to media in Kapurthala, he defended the decision to allow Punjab Police to handle the anti-terror operation and said the mission has proved the capability of the force to deal with such situations at any point of time. Five bombs were also found on a railway track in the state, in a possible sign of an attempted coordinated attack. “We are looking into it and once I get some more information, I will come out with it”.
The spokesman said that Pakistan believes that India’s Home Minister’s provocative comments are a threat to peace and security of the region.
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Security agencies fear that Pakistan-based terror outfits are now trying to shift partial focus from Kashmir to the border state of Punjab, where they can easily intrude and strike “at ease” as compared to the Kashmir valley.
