Live! Indian consulate in northern Afghanistan attacked

LIVE

Sun, 03 January 2016

Timeline Refresh

23:10 Indian consulate in northern Afghanistan attacked

The Indian consulate in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif came under attack on Sunday with an unknown number of gunmen attempting to enter the compound after twin explosions and shots were heard, the spokesman for the local governor said.

Two of the four attackers have been killed by Afghan special forces. No Indian causalities have been reported.

"We are being attacked. Fighting is going on," an Indian consulate official told AFP by telephone from inside the compound.

India has a three-member consulate in the northern Balkh district.

The attack came as Indian security forces were still trying to suppress an assault on the Pathankot air base near the border with Pakistan that has killed seven military personnel and wounded 20 others.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi tonight held a meeting with top officials to discuss the Pathankot terror attack.

Soon after returning from his two-day visit to Karnataka, Modi chaired a meeting of top officials including National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar.

"Immediately on landing in Delhi, PM Narendra Modi is chairing a high-level meeting with the NSA, Foreign Secretary and other officials," the PMO said.

Earlier during the day, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar briefed Prime Minister Modi on the latest situation at the Pathankot air base. Both were present at a HAL function in Tumakuru in Karnataka.

A terror alert has been sounded in Mumbai. Cops have intensified night patrolling in the wake of the terror attack at the Pathankot Air Force Base in Punjab.

"Police have started doing naka-bandi at several places in the megalopolis. Suspicious activities are being checked at railway stations, lodges and hotels," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Detection) Dhananjay Kulkarni said.

Since Saturday, police have intensified the vigil and and night patrolling in the city, an official said.

The National Investigation Agency, mandated to probe terror cases, will register a case tomorrow to probe the conspiracy of Pakistan-based terrorist group, believed to be Jaish-e-Mohammed, behind the strike at the IAF base in Pathankot in Punjab.

A team of NIA was at the spot yesterday as per the standard operating procedure and today the government decided to hand over the case to the NIA after taking concurrence from the Punjab government, official sources said.

The mandate of the NIA probe will include entry of the militants into India, killing of a taxi driver Ikagar Singh, kidnapping of Superintendent of Police-rank officer of Punjab Police, who was later released and entry into the IAF campus, the sources said.

They said the investigators will also try and ascertain the conspiracy that was hatched on the Pakistani soil by the terrorists and if possible find out the state and non-state actors in that country.

As per the standard operating procedure, an NIA team is rushed to the site of terror strike so that they can share their expertise as well as have first-hand information about the case, the sources said.

20:08

JS Dhamoon, Air Officer Commanding of the Pathankot AFB, reveals that one Defence Security Corps jawan who worked in the kitchen, engaged and killed one of the terrorists with terrorist's own weapon.

19:49

Fresh explosions followed by intermittent firing erupt at 7 pm at Pathankot Air Force base

19:08 Incidents like Pathankot must be dealt with heavy hand: Punjab CM

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said that incidents like the Pathankot terror strike must be dealt with a heavy hand and asked parties to refrain from politicising the issue.

To combat cross border terrorism in the country in an effective manner, Badal said that both the Centre and state governments must work in uniformity.

Interacting with media persons, the chief minister said that it was a high time that both the Centre and state governments evolve a strategy to deal with such dastardly acts.

"Such incidents must be dealt with a heavy hand so as to avoid any threat to unity and integrity of the nation," he said.

18:52

Haryana Govt announces Rs 20 lakh compensation to family of Garud Commando Gursewak Singh who lost his life in Pathankot terrorist attack

18:30 The operation is ongoing, at a mature state: Govt

Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi is briefing the media on Pathankot terror attack:

* Due to active intelligence inputs & advance information, security forces, especially the Air Force, we have been able to ensure that there have been no damage to IAF assets.

* The main aim of terrorists stands defeated.

* On January 1, an Innova car was found along with driver whose throat was slit. After this an alert was sounded and all vital installations were alerted to a terror attack.

* Due to surveillance and alert they were unable to move to the technical area -- their target. They were contained in a non-operational area and surrounded and combing operations were started

* Last night, the firing stopped and therefore we were not sure if all terrorists killed or not. When combing started in morning, we did find atleast two more terrorists & they are being engaged. We are hopeful that they will also be neutralised by evening.

* Air Force lost 6 security personnel of the air force and eight injured personnel.

* NSG lost Lt Col Niranjan and has 12 injuries so far.

* Between August and December almost 40 terrorists have been neutralized based on Intelligence Bureau inputs.

Air Marshal Anil Khosla, Director General Air Operations at Air Headquarters, says:

* The operation never stopped, the operation is not completed yet.

* The operation is at a mature state but confirmation on the number of casualties only after recovering bodies

* All airfields were on alert after the intel was received.

* Coordination was done between all agencies.

* All aerial assets were employed in the operation.

A strategy on Pakistan was discussed today by the government with former foreign secretaries and ex-envoys to the neighbouring country, a day after the terror strike at a vital air base in Pathankot.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj held consultations in New Delhi which were also attended by S K Lambah, G Parthasarathy, Shyam Saran, Shivshankar Menon, Satyabrata Paul, Sharad Sabharwal and TCA Raghavan.

The external affairs ministry did not give details of this unusual meeting and termed it only as "diplomatic consultations on Pakistan strategy".

Today's discussion came amidst a raging debate over the possible impact of the Pathakot terror strike on Indo-Pak dialogue which had got a fillip after a surprise visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Lahore to meet his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif.

16:44

'If not for intelligence reports, Pathankot attack could have been severe': Home Minister Rajnath Singh

16:06 Punjab seeks more BSF deployment along border with Pak

Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on Pathankot attack:

"We are writing to the central government. There is not as much BSF deployment on the Punjab border as compared to J&K border. They should increase deployment in this area; this is the second/third time such incident has happened in Punjab."

"Punjab Police will act as the second line of defence whereas BSF will be first line of defence. A commando battalion will be established in Pathankot district."

15:23 CBSE class X, XII exams to begin from March 1

The Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE) has announced the dates for class X and XII board examinations, both beginning on March 1.

The exams for standard X will continue till March 28 and that for students of XII will end on April 22.

While English, both core and elective, will mark the beginning of the exams for standard XII students, those in X will be facing the exam on Dynamic Retail, Information Technology, Security, Auto Technology and International Tourism.

The examination for the main subjects for standard X candidates will begin on March 2, with Science, theory and practical, examination.

Last year, a total of 10,40,368 students had appeared for class XII examination and a total of 13,73,853 students for class X.

Delhi has been put on high alert after intelligence agencies have warned of a possible 'high profile strike' allegedly by Jaish-e-Mohammed in the national capital.

The security forces have been asked to maintain extra vigilance at all crowded locations.

According to sources, the agencies have warned that two JeM terrorists have sneaked into the national capital with the intention to carry out high-profile strikes and a hostage crisis could also be possible.

The Delhi Police has also been provided with additional companies of the central paramilitary forces to guard the vital installations.

Gunfire and blasts were heard on Sunday at the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot that was attacked by terrorists a day earlier, and TV channels reported two gunmen were still at large in the sprawling facility near the border with Pakistan.

News channels cited police in northwestern Punjab as saying the two gunmen were still holed up in Pathankot air base, more than a day after the pre-dawn raid in which four terrorists and six military personnel were killed.

A home ministry official said several blasts had been heard in the facility but could not confirm reports that gunmen were still at large.

14:22

Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi to brief media on #Pathankot terror attack at 5 PM today.

13:18

Home Minister Rajnath Singh tweets on NSG Commando Lt Col Niranjan's demise: "Pained to know about the demise of Lt Col Niranjan of NSG during mopping up operations in Pathankot. The nation salutes his sacrifice."

12:36 Fresh firing inside Pathankot Air Force base: Report

India Today reports: Fresh firing inside Pathankot Air Force base reported at around 12.15 pm. One senior Army officer was killed and four jawans were injured when a grenade exploded while being defused by the bomb squad inside the air base.

Entire area has been cordoned off and top officers of several agencies are camping in the station premises to oversee the operation which is jointly being conducted by several security wings including NIA, NSG and Garud.

IAF helicopters were also seen flying over the base and nearby areas to assist ground forces in the operations.

12:09 US condemns Pathankot terror attack

The US on Sunday condemned the terror attack on an Indian Air Force base by Pakistani terrorists and urged all countries in the region to work together to disrupt and dismantle terrorist network.

"The United States strongly condemns the terrorist attack on an air force base in the Indian state of Punjab on January 2. We extend our condolences to the victims and their families," State Department spokesman John Kirby said.

The US is committed to its strong partnership with the Indian government to combat terrorism, he said in a statement.

"We urge all countries in the region to work together to disrupt and dismantle terrorist networks and to bring to justice the perpetrators of this heinous act," Kirby said.

Several trains were delayed and some were diverted after a bomb scare at New Delhi Railway station on Sunday morning. Later the threat was found to be a hoax. Lucknow-Shatabdi Express, which was halted at Ghaziabad station, was allowed to leave after a proper check.

"Lucknow Shatabdi Express was halted and evacuated at Ghaziabad railway station after bomb scare this morning," said Neeraj Sharma, CPRO, Northern Railway.

"Nothing found during search,we got clearance at 7:40 am and the train was allowed to leave at 7:42 am," added Neeraj Sharma.

According to reports, the Railway Board was informed by Mumbai ATS after latter received an e-mail threatening of bomb blast on Delhi-Kanpur train.

Several Kanpur-bound trains were evacuated and checked at New Delhi and neighbouring stations. Lucknow Shatabdi Express was evacuated at Ghaziabad.

Former India rifle shooter Subedar-major (Retd) Fateh Singh was martyred while fighting terrorist in Pathankot. He was one of the soldiers killed in the ghastly terror attack.

He won two medals -- gold and silver -- for India at the 1st Commonwealth Shooting Championship in New Delhi in 1995.

The National Rifle Association of India condoled the death of 51-year-old brave soldier, who was once a bright star in Indian shooting arena.

Zee News reports: Hours before terrorists struck at the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot early on Saturday, at least one of them spoke to their families back in Pakistan.

Sources told Zee Media that Indian intelligence agencies intercepted four international calls to Pakistan from in and around Pathankot after 12:35 am on Friday midnight.

The terrorist spoke to his mother on phone who in turn asked him to "have food before dying".

Narendra Modi government has hiked excise duty on petrol by 37 paise per litre and Rs 2 per litre on diesel.

After including additional and special excise duty, the total levy on unbranded petrol will be Rs 19.73 per litre as against Rs 19.36 currently.

Similarly, on unbranded or normal diesel, total excise duty after including special excise duty will be Rs 13.83 per litre as compared to Rs 11.83 now.

The government had on December 16 raised excise duty on petrol by Rs 1.17 per litre and on diesel by 30 paise a litre.Taken together with the November 7, 2015 increase in excise duty on petrol of Rs 1.60 per litre and diesel by 30 paise to raise Rs 3,200 crore, this is the third hike in levies this fiscal.

Petrol currently cost Rs 59.35 per litre in Delhi while diesel costs Rs 45.03 a litre.

Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has dropped a bombshell on Bollywood actor Asha Parekh accusing her of lobbying for Padma Bhushan award.

Gadkari claimed that the veteran actor had come to him seeking to to be recommended for the Padma Bhushan saying that she was entitled for one.

Gadkari was addressing an event here when he said the giving out awards was creating a 'headache' these days and that he was being `chased` for recommendations and that the celebrated actress had done the same.

"Film actor Asha Parekh came to me for recommending her name for Padma Bhushan. The lift of my apartment was not functioning properly, so she climbed 12th floors to meet me in person and I really felt bad about it," the Union Minister said.

Delhi Police sleuths interrogating a dismissed IAF official, who was arrested from Punjab's Bhatinda, have so far not found any connection between the information he allegedly shared with a suspected ISI-backed operative and the terror attack in Pathankot today.

A Delhi court today remanded the dismissed IAF official, Ranjith KK, arrested earlier this week for allegedly sharing secret information with Pakistan's ISI, to two more days of police custody to enable the agency to interrogate him in connection with the Pathankot terror attack.

"We interrogated the dismissed official for several hours today but so far we haven't found any connection between the information he has shared with a cyber entity, who honeytrapped him over a social neyworking site, claiming to be a woman media personnel from UK and the attack at the Air Force base in Pathankot," said a police official.

"Investigation into the matter is underway and our concerns were legitimate," the official said.

He said that the investigating officer of the case had sought an extension of the remand to ascertain whether any of Ranjith's disclosures had any connection with the Pathankot attack, not that he had made any such disclosures in the first four days of interrogation.

00:07 Top headlines of the last 24 hours

India must be ready to attack in the event of another terror strike
Quick Response Team was waiting for the terrorists
A B Bardhan, veteran Communist leader, is dead
PHOTOS: Security beefed up across India after Pathankot attack
Enemies of humanity carried out attack in Pathankot: Modi
Foiled terror plan due to timely action, intel: IAF

Timeline Refresh

TOP STORIES