United Jihad Council says India suffering from ‘Pakistan phobia’, claims its ‘National Highway Squad’ carried out the brazen attack at Pathankot airbase
Senior Indian official says New Delhi mulling options on foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan
India is mulling its options on whether to go ahead with foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan scheduled for later this month after militants attacked an Indian Air Force (IAF) base over the weekend, a government official said on Monday, as an alliance of Kashmiri militant groups on Monday claimed the deadly attack on the Pathankot airbase.
The United Jihad Council (UJC) said in a statement that the attack was a message to India that Kashmiri fighters could strike at any sensitive installation across India.
“Pathankot air base attack has been carried out by the mujahideen associated with National Highway Squad,” said Syed Sadaqat Hussain, a spokesman for UJC.
The UJC comprises over a dozen militant groups fighting Indian rule in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.
It is headed by Syed Salahuddin, who commands the Hizbul Mujahideen. However, this is the first report of the existence of the National Highway Squad.
“Pakistan has nothing to do with the attack but ironically the Indian government, media and their armed forces are suffering from Pakistan phobia,” added the UJC spokesman.
The spokesman added that by hurling allegations at Pakistan, India could neither sabotage the struggle of Kashmiri people in the past nor can it do so now.
“It would be better for the Indian leadership to read the writing on the wall and let the Kashmiri people decide their fate on their own free accord, without further waste of time,” elaborated the statement from the UJC.
INDIA TO MULL TALKS WITH PAK:
Meanwhile in New Delhi, a senior government official said that a final decision on the talks with Pakistan, scheduled for January 15, is expected to be taken after security forces have completed their operation at the Pathankot air base.
The attack, a rare targeting of an Indian military installation outside the disputed region of Kashmir, threatens to undermine a tentative thaw in relations with Pakistan.
Meanwhile at Pathankot, Indian security forces were working on Monday to carefully defuse grenades in the final stages of an operation to secure the vast air base.
According to The Hindu, fresh firing was reported at the Pathankot Air Force base with more terrorists suspected to be hiding in the area.
A senior government official said two militants who were hiding in the administrative block of the base had been killed on Sunday, but authorities had yet to recover the bodies.
“A total of six terrorists have been killed, but every inch of the air base has to be secured before we call off the operation,” said the official in New Delhi, who requested anonymity.
Manish Mehta, an Indian army spokesperson, said the military was working at a “very fast pace” to defuse live hand grenades and gather the remains of the militants. “The air base is large and we have been working all night to ensure that the base is totally in our control,” said Mehta.
A soldier from India’s counter-terrorism force, the National Security Guard, was killed by an exploding grenade on Saturday as he lifted the body of one dead attacker, prompting caution in work to clear the area of possible booby-traps.
Military trucks were seen entering and leaving the walled compound and helicopters were flying over it on Monday morning. The attack came about a week after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a surprise visit to his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif, the first by an Indian premier in 11 years.
Officials said the attack bore the hallmarks of previous suspected assaults by Pakistan-based militant groups, underscoring the fragility of recent efforts to revive bilateral talks between the nuclear-armed neighbours.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Pakistan has condemned the attack and said it wanted to continue to build on the goodwill created by the impromptu meeting between Modi and Sharif last month.