ISI behind attack, says intelligence agencies

The attack on the Pathankote Air Force base by suspected Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists appears to be part of Pakistan spy agency ISI’s plans to jack up terrorist activities in Punjab where militancy was crushed more than two decades ago.

Indian Intelligence agencies had been picking up inputs in the past months about the ISI’s efforts in this regard that included specialised training camps for youths to be sent to Punjab.The attack in Pathankote came five months after an attack in Gurdaspur. In July last year, terrorists who crossed over from Pakistan had attacked a police station in Gurdaspur and a bus killing three civilians and four police personnel. All the three terrorists were killed in the encounter.

Punjab has also witnessed unrest last year following frequent incidents of desecrating of Sikhs’ holy book. The Punjab administration had put the blame on the ISI for fuelling the protests.

According to intelligence reports, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and Delhi are on the ISI radar. It wants to expand the terror theatre in the country from Jammu and Kashmir to other states and Punjab finds a special place in its list.