India on Thursday seemed resolved to continue a nascent peace process agreed with Pakistan earlier this month, as it blamed Pakistan-based militants for the attack in Gurdaspur district of Punjab earlier this week, and warned of a firm response to terrorism.
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“Security forces at the border are alert, but the hard terrain coupled with recent heavy rains, resulting in excess flow in the rivers and canals along the border, could have been a factor in this particular group sneaking into Punjab”, Singh added.
Singh said the Global Positioning System (GPS) devices, which belonged to the terrorists and were recovered after they were shot dead, established that they crossed into India through the River Ravi.
Making a formal statement in the Rajya Sabha, the home minister said the central government was committed to rooting out terrorism from the country. I would not like to comment on this. “We have condemned in strongest terms that is self explanatory”, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Qazi Khalilullah said.
Pak foreign office said that pointing fingers without investigation is “not a healthy trend”.
“The prime minister should make a statement on the issue in parliament”, he said, expressing concern over the terror attack in Dinanagar town of Gurdaspur district in Punjab on Monday.
He pointed out that in the Gurdaspur incident blames were apportioned to Pakistan by the Indian media, even when the encounter with terrorists was still going on.
South Block sources said the two sides are discussing possible dates on which Pakistan PM’s advisor on national security and worldwide affairs, Sartaj Aziz, can visit New Delhi for talks with NSA Ajit K Doval. However, he gave no indication that a plan for bilateral high level security talks has been jeopardized by the attack. All three terrorists, who were holed up inside a police station in Dinangar area, were killed in an operation which lasted 12 hours.
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The places attacked in Gurdaspur were railway tracks, state bus, police station and city secretariat while the 26/11 terrorists attacked the Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus, 5 star hotels, Leopold cafe, Cama hospital and Nariman House.
