Intermittent blasts and exchange of fire to neutralise two more terrorists continued on Sunday night at Air Force Station in Pathankot, Punjab where four terrorists were killed, seven security men lost their lives and 17 persons were injured in the over 40-hour-long operation.
With no SPG protection, the task to keep the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial nominee way from all the threats he faces is daunting. Vicky Nanjappa reports
India plans to provide the probe team from Pakistan access to all witnesses in the Pathankot terror attack case but not security personnel from the National Security Guard or the Border Security Force.
Sabir Ali's stint in the Bharatiya Janata Party lasted for a couple of hours. Accused of being a Yasin Bhatkal sympathiser, till only a few days back he belonged to a party that has been accused of going soft on terrorists. Vicky Nanjappa analyses if there's any truth to these allegations
Nitin Gokhale reports on how quick decisions saved a repeat of a Mumbai-like carnage at the key Punjab air force base.
As many as 29 explosions were recorded after the last terrorist was neutralised, giving an impression of continuing pitched battles!
'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.
'Ajit Doval has done a splendid job in handling the Pathankot attack and certainly helped save heavy destruction of critical air force assets,' says Abhay Jere.
'Headley's confirmation of certain aspects of the conspiracy, its planning and what his role was will definitely matter.'
Thailand expressed interest in the Indian defence industry and its experience and expertise in the field of defence R&D and production. Modi welcomed Thai investments in India in the potential areas under the 'Make in India' initiative, especially in the manufacturing sector, infrastructure development, tourism and hospitality facilities.
'We need to be in a perpetual state of aggression, and able to swiftly change the goal posts to keep Pakistan in a state of imbalance,' argues Sanjeev Nayyar.
'His essential doctrine was only the local police can fight terror.' '"You can't fire at mobs throwing stones," he said, adding one has to think innovatively, even defensively, sometimes.' Shekhar Gupta remembers the uncoventional SuperCop.
Everything about Narendra Modi's Maha Garjana rally in Mumbai on Sunday is humongous, reports Prasanna D Zore.
What distinguishes 26/11 from other bombings in big cities, for instance 9/11 in New York or 7/7 in London, is that it remains the best-documented attack in a digitally enhanced world, says Sunil Sethi
India and France on Monday inked an Inter-Governmental Agreement on the sale of 36 French fighter jets, Rafale, but were unable to sign the final deal due to some "financial" aspects, which are expected to be sorted out in "couple of days".
'India simply wasn't prepared for the fact that a natural-born American could be organising a major terror plot in their country. And they didn't look for people like him.' 'Headley is one of the most complex and interesting terrorists of the last many years.'
Discussing in detail the security risk BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi faces, a senior Intelligence Bureau officer tells Sheela Bhatt that Modi's security cover will improve manifold following the Patna serial blasts.
'Inept handling by the National Security Advisor transformed what should have been a short counter-terrorist operation in Pathankot into an apparent debacle.'
Six serials blasts rocked the venue of Narendra Modi's rally in Patna minutes before he arrived there to address the gathering while another crude bomb exploded at the railway station, leaving five dead and over a fifty injured.
The mortal remains of the nine Siachen bravehearts, who were buried alive on February 3 in an avalanche in the world's highest battlefield, were on Monday brought to New Delhi.
'...even if they have profound differences. We discuss within our party and with each other, but not openly. We just reminded the BJP that they too, should follow this dharma.'
Even as France mourns the bloodiest terrorist attack for 20 years, let's take a look at some major standoffs witnessed in the past:
Singh said the terrorists snuck in from the Ravi river.
'Had this been handled in a correct way, the only lives that would have been lost, presumably, were the lives of the terrorists and that would have been welcome.' The information we had was pure gold. You seldom get information of this kind several hours in advance, exactly where they are going to strike. But we still couldn't act on this intelligence.'
'The Indian and Israeli rabbis were singing a small departure song for brave little Moshe, who had spent many, likely, heartbreaking but bittersweet hours at this home of his babyhood, looking at the drawings his mother had made for him, that were still up in his room.'
'Unni swung up his MP5 and fired a burst across the atrium. The bullets hammered into the wall. Then he bounded up the stairs leading to the other set of doors opening into the Palm Lounge. It was a terribly risky move because he didn't have a buddy to cover him.'
'The era of conventional wars is almost over in the Indian context.' 'In such a scenario, special forces could play a decisive strategic role in the spectrum of conflict.'
'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.
The suspected Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists dressed in army uniforms launched the attack with an aim of destroying the air base.
'The violence that shook Assam was a direct outcome of the state's ethnic problem... The tension that created a rift between the Bodos and the non-Bodos for years found a blood-spattered expression.' Former NSG chief Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary, the Trinamool Congress candidate from Kokrajhar, speaks to Indrani Roy/Rediff.com about last week's carnage in Assam.
How can a State be so criminally neglectful towards the safety of its citizens, asks Tarun Vijay.
The Simulia madrassa, on the outskirts of Bardhaman town in West Bengal, allegedly had links with Gulshana Bibi and Amina Bibi, the women arrested after the October 2 blast in the town. The NIA alleges the madrassa trained poor Muslim women in jihad. The madrassa had an unwritten convention: The women trained there would be married only to men who were on the same 'mission.'
'The sky is the limit for what all could be done at an air base to neutralise terrorists. Good proactive local leadership and delegated operational effort would be key to ensuring that a handful of terrorists cannot hold a whole air base, and by extension, the whole nation to ransom,' says Group Captain P I Muralidharan (retd).
'Pakistan is convinced that the Modi government has -- given its image and political compulsions -- no choice but to act in the case of another terror attack.'
Arvind Singh, a member of Mahabodhi temple management committee, said the two injured included a national of Myanmar and another of Tibet. They have been admitted to the Magadh MedicalCollege and Hospital, he said
On display was India's military might and cultural diversity.
'These ISIS terrorists want to smash Western civilisation, smash India. For the time being though, their main target would be the US and Europe.'
Vinita Bisht and Vinita Kamte lost their husbands -- one an NSG commando, the other an IPS officer -- in the 26/11 terror attack. Six years later, Archana Masih/Rediff.com meets them to discover that closure is one of the hardest things to find.
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