India air base siege: Fifth gunman killed

Indian soldiers stand guard outside an airbase in Pathankot, India, Monday, Jan. 4, 2016.

“Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif assured Prime Minister Modi that his government would take prompt and decisive action against the terrorists”, a statement posted on the Indian government website read.

Security forces initially said they had killed all the attackers during a 14-hour gun battle and secured the base.

It is an attack on India.

Four attackers were reported killed by Saturday evening, and at least two were said to have been exchanging gunfire with troops as of Monday morning. Singh reportedly said Monday that all families living on the base were safe and “all strategic assets [helicopters, aircraft and other military hardware] were secured”.

“One of the gunmen snatched my phone and made calls to Pakistan”, Singh said. “There are serious holes in the entire security structure”, said Sukh Deo Muni at New Delhi’s Institute of Defense Studies and Analyses.

Pakistan on Monday said it is working on “leads provided by the Indian government to effectively counter and eradicate terrorism” from the region. The group, which is fighting to end Indian rule in Kashmir, said it wanted to show India that no military installation was out of the reach of militants and India should allow Kashmiris to decide their political future. India routinely accuses Islamist groups in Pakistan of fomenting terror across the border.

“It would be better for the Indian leadership to read the writing on the wall and let the Kashmiri people decide thier fate on their own free accord, without further waste of time”, elaborated the statement from the UJC.

India says a final decision on the talks, scheduled for January 15, is expected to be taken after their security forces complete their operation at the Pathankot air base.

Expressing grave concern over the Pathankot terror attack, the Shiv Sena on Tuesday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “chai” (tea) with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif cost the nation seven martyrs.

News reports said the commando was killed while defusing explosives.

However, former Indian envoys to Pakistan and ex-foreign secretaries, who held consultations with India’s external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday, collectively advised her that talks with Islamabad should progress despite the Pathankot attack.

The Sena also said that had the Congress been in power today, there would have been demands to strike at Pakistan and avenge the deaths of soldiers, but now nothing is being done about the incident.