In the wake of terror attacks on the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has asked the services chiefs to find out the shortcomings leading to the terrorists entering the heavily guarded airbase. The IAF will also institute a court of enquiry to ascertain reasons for breach in security cordon.
The Government also ordered a security audit of all critical Defence installations in the country in the wake of the latest terror attack, officials said here on Monday, adding the objective of the audit is to identify shortcomings in the security system and plug them.
On Parrikar’s directive to the armed forces, sources said the probe will start once the operation gets over. Besides identifying lapses in security, it will also touch upon the vital issue of co-ordination between security forces engaged in the firefight with the terrorists.
This aspect has come up amidst reports that there were initial hiccups in forging a joint operation to meet the challenge that led to critical loss of time in neutralising the threat, officials said here on Monday.
The issue was sorted out at the highest level and the National Security Guards (NSG) was given the overall responsibility to conduct the operation. The Army, Garud Commando force of the IAF and Punjab Police were the other units engaged in the fight, they said.
The IAF enquiry will deal with the questions how the heavily armed militants managed to sneak into the airbase despite specific Intelligence inputs. It was suspected that the militants infiltrated into the air force station though a nullah running alongside the outer perimeter wall or a breach in the wall which went undetected, they said. The militants then hid inside a junkyard located in the campus along the wall.
Clarifying that the militants were contained in the domestic airport section, officials said all the assets -- including a squadron (18-20) of MIG-21 fighter jets, MI-35 attack helicopters, missile Defence control room, sophisticated radar surveillance system and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) -- were safe. These assets were parked in the technical section of the airbase and the security forces managed to stop the terrorists at least a kilometre away from the segregated zone thereby averting a major disaster.
Spread over a large area, the Pathankot airbase is ringed by a 24 km perimeter and ten feet high wall fitted with concertina wire atop it. Interestingly, the base stretches between Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. Moreover, Pathankot town shares borders with Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and International Border with Pakistan which is 30-odd km away.
Strategically important airbase is guarded by the Defence Security Corps (DSC) comprising ex-Army men and IAF police. Garud Commandos are also stationed there besides dog squads, officials said, adding similar security ring is deployed in almost all the sensitive airbases throughout the country.
Meanwhile, the Union Home Ministry on Monday sought explanation from BSF for the failure to prevent the infiltration of terrorists who attacked the Pathankot airbase. The BSF is guarding the International Border with Pakistan. NIA also registered a case to find the details of infiltration by terrorists from Pakistan.