GPS sets nail Pak hand in Punjab terror attack, reveal killers had 3 targets

NEW DELHI: In what constitutes undeniable evidence of Pakistan’s complicity in the terror attack at Dinanagar in Punjab on Monday, intelligence agencies have found that the GPS sets recovered from the slain terrorists were first fed with data on July 21 at Sargodha, a town 94 km from Faisalabad.
The examination of GPS sets also shows that the three terrorists were sent with instructions to kill the district magistrate and the superintendent of police of Gurdaspur, attack the Dinanagar police station and inflict mass casualties by blowing up passenger trains.
Top government sources described the data retrieved from the GPS sets as “incontrovertible technical evidence of Pakistan’s complicity”, and expressed confidence that investigators would soon be able to determine the identity of the three attackers.
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The strength of the evidence has deepened the dilemma in the government whether to go ahead with the NSA-level talks with Pakistan. The clinching evidence of Pakistani hand in yet another terror atrocity has revived the school that there was little point in resuming engagement with Islamabad in view of its unwillingness or inability to rein in jihadi gangs. However, GPS findings are also being viewed as an opportunity to corner Pakistan with irrefutable evidence at the NSA-level talks.
The GPS data shows that the masterminds had set three targets for the terrorists. The first was the Dinanagar-Pathankot rail track on which five bombs were found strapped. Dinanagar police station, where the encounter took place resulting in the terrorists being killed, was the second on the hit list. The terrorists were expected to eventually proceed to the high profile targets of bungalows of the DM and the SP in the Civil Lines area of the town for what could have been a deadly climax.

Security personnel carry the body of one of the terrorists after the encounter. (PTI photo)
The third plan could not materialize as the terrorists got confined to a building near the Dinanagar police station. As luck would have it, the bombs on the rail tracks also did not go off, thus sparing the town of the mayhem that had been planned. “The idea was to stage a spectacular attack which was both lethal and widespread,” said a security establishment officer.
Opinion is still divided on the identity of the group involved in the attack. One thought in the security establishment points to the Jaish-e-Mohammed or LeT due to the similarities between the Punjab attack and those carried out in the past couple of years in Jammu. However, cautious voices said it was too early to conclusively identify the outfit behind the attacks.
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The initial response in BJP circles to the terror attack was to demand the junking of the Ufa agreement between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif. However, that may run into resistance from those who wish to capitalize on GPS findings to nail Pakistan. “The NSA-level talks are too tempting an opportunity to be squandered,” said a security establishment officer.
Security agencies see the July 21 feed in the GPS data as an indication that preparations for the attacks began soon after Ufa talks in early July. The aim, clearly, was to prepare the ground for Islamabad to wriggle out of the statement which sections within Pakistan believe is lopsided in India’s favour. The feeling within Pakistan is that inclusion of issues such as stabilization of the LoC, expediting 26/11 trial, providing voice sample of Mumbai attack accused and no mention of Kashmir has tilted the Ufa statement in favour of India.
The pressure on the Sharif government to step back and not engage until India had acquiesced to a format which was favourable to Pakistan and clearly mentioned J&K began before the ink on the agreement had dried.
Agencies have also taken note of media coverage of the attacks in Pakistan, saying an effort to concoct a Khalistan connection was evident. Agencies read it as Pakistan’s effort to spread the arc of terrorism in India given the lack of easy opportunities in Jammu and Kashmir because of heightened vigil. The idea, said sources, was that by pasting the blame on Khalistanis, Pakistan may be able to stoke trouble in Punjab yet again.