At least 1 gunman still remains at Indian air force base

Indian security forces mounted operations for a third day to flush out two suspected terrorists and secure an air base in the northern Pathankot town, which came under attack from heavily armed gunmen.

Exchanges of gunfire with Indian security forces were continuing on January 4 at the Pathankot air force base.

The army said in a statement Monday that the building where the remaining gunmen were firing from is part of the living quarters on the base.

India is “mulling options” with regard to the Foreign Secretary-level talks with Pakistan scheduled to be held in Islamabad on January 15, in light of the terror attack at Pathankot air base.

Earlier on Monday, a senior federal government official had said two militants hiding in the administrative block of the base had been killed on Sunday, but authorities had yet to recover the bodies. NSG and army commandos conducted a thorough mopping of the entire area where the terrorists, suspected to be from Pakistan, had been cornered, police said.

The sprawling Pathankot air force base is spread over several kilometres, including some forested sections.

“The combing and search operations still continue”, the officer from the National Security Guard (NSG), a special forces unit, told journalists on condition of anonymity.

When we asked them why aren’t they distancing themselves from the terrorists calling them non-state actors, the Pak spokesperson replied, “People are more likely to believe Nawaz Sharif runs Pakistan than that excuse so we have abandoned that defense for now”.

“In line with Pakistan’s commitment to effectively counter and eradicate terrorism, the government is in touch with the Indian government and is working on the leads provided by it”, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement released from Islamabad.

Pathankot houses dozens of jet fighters and is located just 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the Pakistan border. A gunfight between two more terrorists and security forces continued through Sunday.

Seven soldiers and at least four assailants died in the attack, which began on Saturday at Pathankot – on India’s border with Pakistan.

The attacks were potential blows to two separate but linked diplomatic efforts to lower tensions in the region: an attempt to thaw relations between Pakistan and India, and a renewed attempt by Pakistan to broker peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government. In the past, when it was in opposition, Modi’s own right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party has been the most vocal critic of engagement with Pakistan, saying that talks and terror should not go together.