Pathankot terror attack: Updates on day 4

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar says security forces have killed six terrorists in the IAF base in Punjab's Pathankot.

• PM Sharif pointed out to PM Modi whenever effort to bring peace between two countries was underway terrorists try to derail process: Pak PM office.

• PM Nawaz Sharif called up PM Narendra Modi and conveyed his sadness & grief on the loss of lives in Pathankot terror attack: Pak PM office.

• Japan condemns terrorist attack. Terrorism cannot be justified for any reason. Japan expresses solidarity with gov & people of India: MEA.

• France condemns attack on Indian military base; stands alongside India in fight against terrorism: MEA.

• We worked in coordination with all agencies, our officers reacted immediately when attack happened: Punjab DGP Suresh Arora.

• We have decided to post one AIG counter intelligence unit in Pathankot and install cctv network: Punjab DGP.

• Seeing is believing, what we saw was highest standard of professionalism from Defence forces: Punjab DGP Suresh Arora.

• PM Modi strongly emphasized need for Pak to take firm & immediate actions against those responsible for & linked to Pathankot attack: MEA.

• The encounter continued for 28 hours: Parrikar

• BSF has been asked to explain how did terrorists manage to enter India: Parrikar​

• I see some gaps (security related) that will be cleared after the investigation, says the Defence Minister.

• Early indications show that the recovered weapons were sourced from Pakistan: Parrikar

• One terrorist still has body vest with a grenade, I've ordered it be destroyed where he's lying. We've lost one life due to booby trap: Parrikar

• The minister says terrorists had 40-50 kg bullets and huge amount of grenades. Early indications suggest some of the material is made in Pakistan.

• Soldiers killed in the attack will get 'battle casualty status' and all its benefits, announces Parrikar.

• Combing operations are still on for safety purposes, likely to end by tomorrow: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar 

• Parrikar says six terrorists have been neutralised at the air base, two bodies have been burnt.

• Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar begins addressing a press conference. The minister says he has visited all the places where the gun battle took place.

• Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif calls PM Narendra Modi to assure his support. (Also Read: Nawaz Sharif calls PM Narendra Modi, assures him of action in Pathankot terror attack probe)

  #PathankotAttack PM Sharif calls PM Modi, assures that his Govt wd take prompt & decisive action against terrorists pic.twitter.com/aV41NRCUnV

  — Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) January 5, 2016

• NDTV quotes sources as saying that operations are over, more than 80 hours after attack on Pathankot air base.

• Prior to Manohar Parrikar's presser, a fresh explosion heard from inside air base. According to reports, it was controlled explosion of material found at the base. 

• Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar will address a press conference shortly.

• Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar as well as the heads of the Army, Air Force visit the IAF base in Pathankot in Punjab that was attacked by terrorists.

• Sources in the Punjab Police confirmed to IANS that an internal probe was being conducted to ascertain the role of some senior officers who took Gurdaspur`s Superintendent of Police (under transfer) Salwinder Singh`s version and information regarding the terrorists "lightly and casually" despite he being a crucial witness to the presence of the terrorists. The Union Home Ministry, top police sources said, has sought a report from the Punjab director general police on the incident related to the SP's abduction and the delay in taking action on the information regarding the terrorists. (Also Read: Punjab Police treated own SP's information on terrorists casually)

• National Investigation Agency chief Sharad Kumar will visit Pathankot tomorrow. He confirms that terrorists who attacked air base in Punjab were from Pakistan.

• "We were blindfolded, our hands tied behind our backs and the terrorists numbering four-five threatened to kill us if we tried to look up," says Gurdaspur SP Salwinder Singh, whose vehicle was forcibly taken away by the heavily-armed militants. When the terrorists reliased that the vehicle belonged to a police officer, "they came back to kill me but by then I had freed my hands and moved from the spot," he said.

• Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi tells Congress to keep petty politics aside when it came to national security.

• Rajesh Verma, the friend of Punjab Superintendent of Police (SP) Salwinder Singh, tells CNN-IBN that he was behind the wheel when terrorists stopped them. “They asked me how far Amritsar was and were talking to their Commander,” added Verma.
• A day after dubbing the Prime Minister as 'Mian Modi', former Union minister Manish Tewari today says:

  Buzz in South Asian Strategic Circles in US that Modi &Nawaz Shrarief have reached a deal on Sir Creek and Siachin If True What'sthe deal ?

  — Manish Tewari (@ManishTewari) January 5, 2016

• The Ministry of Home Affairs asks the Punjab Government to submit report on Pathankot attack.
• The National Investigation Agency (NIA) team reaches the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot to begin its investigation of the three cases lodged in connection with the ongoing terror attack.
• Punjab Superintendent of Police Salwinder Singh tells media that his timely information ahead of the attack on the IAF base in Pathankot alerted security agencies and prevented a major terror strike. The SP had claimed he was abducted by five heavily-armed men as he was returning after visiting a shrine on December 31 night. Senior police officers were allegedly wary of his claim on his abduction.
• Reports say National Security Advisor​ Ajit Doval spoke to his Pakistani counterpart Nasser Khan Janjua this morning. Doval shared with Janjua the details of Pathankot attack, and a few evidences collected from terrorists.
• Congress leader Anand Sharma addresses a press conference, says the attack on Pathankot air base is an attack on India. We salute the soldiers who lost their lives in fighting the terrorists, said Sharma.
• Lashing out at the Centre in the wake of the Pathankot terror strike, the Shiv Sena says: "Seven of our soldiers get martyred in return of a cup of tea with Nawaz Sharif...The incident has proven that our borders are not safe and our internal security is in shambles. With the lives of six terrorists, Pakistan has managed to finish India's self-respect."
• Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari warns that India would give a befitting reply to its neighbour if it continued to perpetrate Pathankot-like terrorist attacks.

• Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy, on Twitter, raises a question mark on India's delayed action.

  It is curious that Pak civil Govt told US in advance of Pathankot terror attack about it. US informed India--who? No action!! Vacationing?

  — Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) January 5, 2016

• Home Minister Rajnath Singh chairs meeting on internal security. NSA Ajit Doval and senior security officials are present.
• Some items recovered from the possession of slain terrorists clearly point the finger at Pakistan for cross-border terrorism.

• The Indian government has reportedly given evidence of terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad's involvement in the attack on Indian Air Force Base in Pathankot.

• Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar along with Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha and Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag will visit Pathankot Air Base today.
• The hijacking of Police Superintendent Salwinder Singh's car by terrorists disguised in uniform should have set off alarm bells and helped prevent the deadly weekend attack on the Pathankot air base. However, a second senior officer in the Punjab Police told Reuters, on condition of anonymity, that Singh's call to a colleague in the early hours of Friday morning was not taken seriously "because his record has not been clean". The police sources said Singh had just been transferred after a woman constable filed a sexual harassment case against him.

• Reacting strongly to the Pathankot air base terror attack, Shiv Sena on Tuesday took on Centre saying that the Narendra Modi government must avenge death of our soldiers.

• The Indian Air Force is likely to constitute a Court of Enquiry to probe alleged lapses at the Pathankot air base, which was attacked by Pakistan-backed terrorists on Saturday.

• The terrorists infiltrated the base on Saturday, leading to fierce gun battle with security forces. Four terrorists were killed on Saturday after 15 hours of fighting. The fifth terrorist, according to the security forces, was killed on Monday.

• Firing could be heard from inside during Monday night and early Tuesday. Officials said the firing was linked to the mopping operation.
• The US expects Pakistan will take actions against the perpetrators of the terror attack on IAF base in Pathankot, a top American official said, hours after Islamabad said it is working on the "leads" provided by India. "The government of Pakistan has spoken very powerfully to this and it's certainly our expectation that they'll treat this exactly the way they've said they would," State Department Spokesman John Kirby said yesterday.

• Pakistan has said it is working on the "leads" provided by India on this attack.

• Search and combing operation by security forces continued on Monday night also. The operation was stepped up on Tuesday to scan every inch of the air base, an Air Force official at the base told IANS.

• The counter offensive against the terrorists at Punjab`s Pathankot air base has been going on for the past 77 hours.
• Security forces continued search and combing operation inside the Pathankot air base on Tuesday -- the fourth day after the attack on the frontline Air Force Station (AFS) by suspected Pakistani terrorists.