Pathankot attack may delay talks

Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar was scheduled to travel to Islamabad on January 14 to hold discussions with his Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry to chalk out a roadmap to carry forward the engagement under the newly-announced “Bilateral Comprehensive Dialogue”.

But, now in the current scenario, official sources on Monday said the government was “mulling options” with regard to the Islamabad meeting. 

There has been speculation that the talks may be deferred and that the National Security Advisors may meet to discuss the situation arising out of the Pathankot attack suspected to have been carried out by Pakistani terrorists. 

At the battleground in Pathankot, where the operation has been continuing for over 60 hours, one of the holed up terrorists was believed to have been killed. He is the fifth one to be killed. 

Top government sources said the neutralised terrorist was one of the two who were hiding in a two-storey building, a living accommodation for the personnel. 

Still there is no clarity on the exact number of terrorists involved in the attack and whether the terrorist eliminated on Monday was the fifth or the sixth terrorist to be neutralised since Saturday when the terror attack began. 

Even this morning, Inspector General of NSG Maj Gen Dushant Singh told a press meet  here that, “Till now, we have eliminated four and operation to eliminate two more terrorists, possibly, is in the final stage of conduct”. 

In another major incident, Punjab police on Monday claimed to have arrested three persons and recovered Pakistani SIM card, mobiles, weapons and ammunition  made in Pakistan.  

Meanwhile, Pakistan-based United Jehad Council (UJC), an umbrella organisation of about a dozen militant outfits, today claimed responsibility for the deadly attack on the airbase at Pathankot. “The attack on the Pathankot Airbase was carried out by the National Highway Sqaud,” Syed Sadaqat Hussain, presenting himself as UJC spokesman, claimed in an email statement.