The police station which was attacked by terrorists in Gurdaspur on Monday. (AFP photo)
A day after India warned of a "a befitting reply" to terror attacks like this week's strike in Gurdaspur in Punjab, sources say there is "no credible evidence" that the Pakistan government was aware of the plot that ended with seven people killed in a small town just 18 km from the border.
Yesterday, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said in Parliament the three terrorists who opened fire at a public bus on Monday and then attacked a police station were from Pakistan. The government, however, quickly stressed that talks with top Pakistani officials are unlikely to be derailed. The National Security Advisors of both countries are to meet in Delhi in a few weeks.
Sources point out that the Home Minister did not reference "Pakistan-based terror or Pakistan-sponsored terror" in his statement to Parliament. They said this indicates a careful attempt by the government to not blame the Pakistani administration.
After a long and chilly stand-off since July last year, a breakthrough in India-Pak relations was resulted at a meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Pakistani premier Nawaz Sharif a few weeks ago in Ufa in Russia.
The Pakistani government has condemned the Gurdaspur strike. "The Pakistani government's endorsement is not visible in the Gurdaspur attack," said government sources to NDTV. But they said chilling evidence has been uncovered that proves the Gudraspur attack was planned 17 days in advance and that the three men who were killed after a 12-hour gunbattle were armed for a far more serious strike. Security cameras have shown them walking on the road in army fatigues, carrying large backpacks and AK-47s. Three civilians and four policemen were killed before the terrorists were shot dead. GPS equipment recovered from them has provided crucial information on how they entered India, sources have said.