Pathankot attack within days of Modi's Pak visit raises serious questions: Ahmed Patel

Congress President Sonia Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel on Saturday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the terror attack on the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot, Punjab has raised 'serious questions' from the security point of view, as also the need for Modi to restart talks with Pakistan.

"A few days ago our Prime Minister Modi visited Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and now this attack has taken place. It raises serious questions. We seriously need to ponder over the situation," Patel told ANI.

Patel, however said that they (Congress) were with the government in its fight against terrorism, saying "we all must fight the threat together."

"The Pathankot attack should be condemned outright, but merely criticising won't serve the purpose," he said.

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"I pay my condolence to the families of those who sacrificed their lives in service of this nation," he added.

Early this morning, around five militants dressed in army fatigues opened fire near the Pathankot Air Force station. The Pathankot National Security Guard team and the Garud Commando Force were roped in to engage the terrorists in a gun battle that began shortly after 3 a.m. with terrorists in the non-operational area of the base.

At the time of the filing of this report, four of the five militants have been killed. There is a heavy deployment of security in and around the air force base. A terror alert has also been issued for most parts of northern India, including national capital New Delhi.

It is also being reported that National Security Advisor Ajit Doval has briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the situation in Pathankot, though this is yet to be formally confirmed.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar is also expected to chair a high-level security meeting that will include the three service chiefs and heads of various key security and intelligence agencies to review the overall security situation and to assess the situation on ground.