This is why Pathankot attacks seem an inside work

On the day of Jan 2, 2016, the Indian Air Force (IAF) base in Pathankot, Punjab was assaulted by 5 heavily armed terrorists which lead to the death of 7 security personnel including a serving Lt Col of the Indian Army.

India’s melodramatic, and highly manipulative media started stamping its feet and started blaming Pakistan. But here it seems that Indian media is acting like a horse with blinkers, as it is avoiding any reason and logic.

Serious analysts proclaim that these attacks would be a loss for Pakistan as well. Here are the reasons why these attacks have nothing to do with Pakistan,

Unfavorable location

The attack in Pathankot is in Indian Punjab which borders Pakistan. For the latter to choose such a close location from the border would be plain idiotic. After all, Pakistan’s harshest critics have repeatedly accused the military establishment of being very meticulous in their planning.

Hence the notion that India perhaps improved its coastal security to force alleged Pakistani terrorists to strike in Punjab does not make sense. On the contrary, an attack near the international border between both countries would have had severely negative implications for Pakistan’s image as a country serious in cleaning up its own mess. The Indian media thus far seems to have successfully enforced this misperception.

Poor target selection

The IAF has 16 air bases in its Western Air Command, 5 of which are situated in Punjab (Adampur, Amritsar, Bhisiana, Halwara and Pathankot). Pathankot base is home to No. 108 “Hawkeyes” Squadron (18 Wing) comprising MiG-21s and the No. 26 “Warriors” Squadron comprising Su-7s and MiG-21s. All these aircraft are very old and of little strategic value, if we are to suppose Pakistan wanted to target them.

On the other hand, choosing a more resourceful air base to target, say for example Adampur air base, would have been somewhat sensible, since it comprises of No. 47 “Black Archers” Squadron and No. 223 “Tridents” Squadron. They both have high-performance MiG-29Bs which are capable of countering F-16 Falcons, which Pakistan has an abundance of.

Advance knowledge of the attack

Barkha Dutt, a senior Indian journalist and Consulting Editor with NDTV, had posted a tweet containing the copy of an intelligence alert issued by Punjab Police as early as December 31, 2015. The alert had warned that LeT was (allegedly) planning to carry out “a spectacular attack in India possibly on New Year celebrations”. The alert notified of around 15 armed militants who would attack “Govt. establishments”, among other high-profile targets.

The question that comes to mind is this: Knowing well how seriously India takes LeT (Hafiz Saeed is known to be India’s enemy number one), why did the Punjab Police not take directives for precautionary security measures seriously?

Insiders suspected

Zee News reported on January 8 that an employee of the Indian Army’s Military and Engineering Services (MES) was arrested, suspected of aiding the attackers as 3 floodlights in the base were found turned upward. Similarly, it was reported on January 11 that arms and ammunition used by miscreants during the attack was smuggled in advance by insiders at the base.