The Pakistani terror masterminds carefully selected a route usually taken by the drug smugglers to infiltrate the fidayeen in Punjab to unleash the deadly attack on IAF base in Pathankot.
Intelligence officials said the route was apparently chosen by the Pakistani handlers because the area is covered with thick foliage of elephant grass that provides natural cover to the infiltrators and considered relatively “safe.”
With the area being covered by thick grass, the
fidayeen could also have used the cover to hide arms and ammunition easily in case they faced any disruptions by the security forces and opt for the
Plan B later on, an Intelligence official said.
The selection of the route also suggests a clear nexus between the Pakistan Army, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and their affiliate terror outfit JeM as well as the drug cartel operating from that country.
According to inputs with the Intelligence agencies here, a large part of funding of Pakistan-backed terror groups comes from the revenues generated from drug trade controlled by the Pakistan Army and ISI.
A tributary of river Beas enters into Pakistan from Bamiyan village and this route often used by drug smugglers to infiltrate into the country.
The six Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists crossed over near Shakargarh in Pakistan to Bamiyal village under Pathankot district and later changed into Army fatigues before seizing a private taxi and an SUV of Superintendent of Police.
The taxi driver was changing one of the tyres when the terrorists kidnapped him and took his vehicle for a distance before they killed him after the vehicle again broke down.
They later kidnapped Salwinder Singh, a Superintendent of Police-rank officer, who was shunted out from Gurdaspur to take charge as Assistant Commandant of 75th battalion of Punjab Armed Police, at Kolian village.
There were three occupants in the vehicle when it was hijacked by five militants which included Singh’s jeweller friend Rajesh Verma and the driver.
The terrorists released Singh and his driver and drove the vehicle for a few kilometers before abandoning it at Tajpur village, 2 km from IAF’s Pathankot base. The terrorists also dumped Verma after slitting his throat. However, Verma survived.
The Pakistani handlers of the JeM terror module, identified as Ashfaque Ahmed and Haji Abdul Shakur, facilitated their travel to that side of the border in Toyota land Cruiser and Mitsubishi Pajero SUVs.
The module was tasked to attack the IAF base and destroy as many aircraft and helicopters as possible, the sources added.
Meanwhile, an analysis of the calls made by the terrorists from Verma’s phone suggests the terrorists managed to “breach” the security of the IAF base as they entered the campus during the day time on January 1, hours before attacking the personnel inside, took cover in the forest inside the sprawling base of about 2000 acres.
The Intelligence agencies and the NIA have asked the IAF to preserve the register of sentry duties of January 1 and a through grilling is expected once the operation is over, the sources said.