The loud noise of helicopters deployed by the air force as part of intensive search operations also kept residents alert in the area.
The suspected Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists dressed in army uniforms launched the attack with an aim of destroying the air base.
The fresh Red Corner notice was issued after the National Investigation Agency secured an 'open-ended' non-bailable warrant against Azhar and Rauf for allegedly conspiring to carry out terror strike on the strategic Indian Air Force base at Pathankot on the intervening night of January 1 and 2.
The NIA on Tuesday summoned the caretaker of a shrine in Punjab which a superintendent of police rank officer had claimed to have visited before being kidnapped by terrorists who attacked the Pathankot Air Force base hours later.
Even as the anti-terror operations continue at the Pathankot Air Force base, the National Investigation Agency has started piecing together the puzzle over how the terrorists managed to sneak into the country and launch the brazen attack.
A suspected intruder was shot dead early Thursday by the Border Security Force along the Indo-Pak border in Pathankot where the force is on high alert following the January 2 terror attack on air force base.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday visited the strategic Pathankot Air Force base for a first-hand assessment of the situation in the aftermath of the terror attack last Saturday.
'Had they struck on the night of the 1st, there would have been hell to pay and had they been able to sneak further in, we would have had a greater problem,' says Lieutenant General H S Panag (retd), the former Northern Army Commander.
Subedar Fateh Singh, a 51-year-old Army man who lost his life during combing operations at the Indian Air Force base near Punjab's Pathankot town on Saturday, had won a gold and a silver medal at the first Commonwealth Shooting Championships held in Delhi in 1995.
The move has been introduced to check any infiltration of terrorists in the wake of the Pathankot attack.
Khan, however, evaded a question on whether Pakistan has no control over the Taliban anymore.
India is yet to receive visa applications from Pakistan's special investigation team members who are supposed to visit the country to probe the Pathankot terror attack, Indian government sources said.
India conducted nationwide civil defence mock drills simulating multiple hostile scenarios like air raids, fire emergencies, and rescue operations across several states and union territories. The drills, dubbed 'Operation Abhyaas,' aimed to enhance emergency preparedness in light of recent terror attacks. The exercises involved coordinated efforts by various agencies, including civil defence personnel, police, fire and emergency services, and the military. Mock drills were conducted at various locations, including railway stations, malls, and high-rise buildings, showcasing the response capabilities of authorities in different emergency scenarios. The drills highlighted the importance of public awareness and cooperation in dealing with real-time emergencies.
Since combing operations in the forest near the base have not helped the security forces to find any vehicle used by the second team of terrorists, it is assumed that a local Jaish-e-Mohammed unit must have dropped them close to the base.
After receiving sanction under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the NIA will name Azhar, his brother Rauf Asghar, and handlers of four terrorists -- Qashif Jan and Shaid Latif in the chargesheet to be filed soon, official sources said.
Ties between India and Pakistan nosedived after a terror attack on the Pathankot Air Force base in 2016 by terror groups based in Pakistan.
Niranjan's lungs got punctured due to the impact of the blast of a grenade that was kept in the pocket of a slain terrorist and the officer died before being taken to hospital.
The visiting Pakistani JIT will begin recording the statements of the witnesses in the Pathankot terror attack case from Thursday.
Punjab Police conducted search operation jointly with Himachal Pradesh Police in the hilly areas located in Bhadroya which is in Himachal Pradesh and covered almost 5-6 km of forest area in search operation.
The Pakistani team investigating the Pathankot terror attack will complete its probe this week, a top official said on Monday, days after three suspects in the high-profile case were remanded to police custody.
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The IAF is also in the process of finalising a Rs 8,000-crore comprehensive security proposal for its 54 main flying bases in the country.
Defence experts have questioned the way the audacious terror attack on the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot was handled, with some even saying it was the result of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "high-risk" mission to Lahore where he met his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif.
In another round of provocative remarks, Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief and Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed has warned India of more terror attacks.
Pakistan is working on the "leads" provided by India on the terror attack on the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot, the foreign office said tonight in a statement whose tone was conciliatory.
A day after National Security Guard Lt Col Niranjan Kumar and Garud Commando Gursewak Singh were slain in the Pathankot air base attack, their remains were brought home for the last rites. Locals, family members and politicians gathered to pay their respects to these heroes.
The NIA chief refrained from naming the terror group responsible for the attack.
NIA officials said the fact that only four AK-47s were recovered from the site and that only four terrorists crossed into Punjab supports this idea.
Since the Pakistani number was under surveillance, security agencies could locate the likely target of the terrorists.
A local resident informed the police about the bag following which the search operation was conducted in Pathankot city and Mamoon Cantonment.
This wireless set is similar to one recovered from the site of attack in Sambha on March 20 last year.
The demand for action by Pakistan was made through a joint statement issued after the 2+2 ministerial attended by the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
Security was strengthened in Pathankot and Gurdaspur especially Batala town with police along with army and Border Security Forces conducting massive checking operation.
'Jihadi outfits backed by the ISI are now prepared to attack targets not just in J&K, but also in Punjab. This signals an escalation in the range and scope of cross-border terrorism, which cannot be ignored,' says Ambassador G Parthasarthy, former high commissioner to Pakistan.
India on Thursday said it desires normal relations with Pakistan and it was for that country to create a conducive atmosphere by taking 'credible, verifiable and irreversible' action against cross-border terrorism.
A MiG-21 fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashed near Halwara air base in Punjab on Tuesday, but the pilot bailed out safely.
India will decide on going ahead with the foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan only after operations to flush out terrorists from the IAF base at Pathankot is over.
'The Pakistani JIT's visit is the first ever experiment by the two South Asian neighbours to probe a terror attack 'jointly.' Well, it is not unlike the scenario wherein the thief himself is made an investigator,' says Rajeev Sharma.
Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar and his brother Abdul Rauf Asghar, mastermind of IC-814 hijack case, are among four persons identified by Indian intelligence agencies as 'handlers' behind the recent Pathankot attack.
?Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said "enemies of humanity" who could not digest India's progress carried out the attack in Pathankot.
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