Punjab terror attack: Was Amarnath Yatra the real target?

NEW DELHI: The first terror attack in almost eight years in Punjab could have been meant for Jammu & Kashmir but diverted at the last minute. Based on inputs, intelligence agencies suspect that Monday's attack in Dinanagar town of Punjab's Gurdaspur district may have been meant for Amarnath yatris.

For the past one-and-a-half months, intelligence agencies had consistently generated inputs that terrorists from across the border were planning to infiltrate and launch an attack on the Amarnath Yatra.

These inputs, though not specific in nature, did make a mention of a possible attack in Gurdaspur as one of the neighbouring districts of Jammu.





"The first such input came one-and-a-half months ago. Alerts were sent to state police in Jammu and Kashmir as well as in Punjab. The inputs suggested that neighbouring districts of Punjab could come under attack in case terrorists find it difficult to mount an attack on the yatra because of heightened security. This attack seems to be a confirmation of that input, but we are still trying to find more details," said a security establishment officer, adding that the inputs mentioned both LeT and Khalistan terrorists as possible strikers.

A July 24 input even mentioned an LeT commander by the name of Maqbool Khan who was leading a group of 10 terrorists to infiltrate into Jammu and launch an attack.






However, given the nature of the attack, intelligence agencies are already beginning to suspect the LeT. "There is no concrete information as yet on which group may be behind the attack. But it does look like the attackers entered from Pakistan through Jammu. The attack in many ways is similar to those launched in Hiranagar and Samba in border areas of Jammu in the past two years. These attacks had LeT and JeM behind them," another officer said.

Sources said the infiltration is being suspected to have happened through the riverine areas around Ravi river in Jammu as Punjab border fences have been found to be intact without any signs of infiltration.

"Although there are no tell-tale signs of infiltration in the riverine areas of Jammu either, it is vulnerable to such mischief given that it is unfenced and difficult to patrol," said the officer.