Pathankot attempted terror strike aimed at nixing Indo-Pak talks: PDP

People's Democratic Party (PDP) leader Waheed-ur-Rehman Para on Saturday said the attempted terror strike in Pathankot, Punjab, was aimed at nixing the upcoming foreign secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan, as also overall bilateral ties between the two nations.

He said talks could leave an impact on the way the menace of terrorism is to be handled, but terror cannot influence talks.

"We think this particular act of terror is aimed at defeating the talks and ties between India and Pakistan. But at the same time, we believe that sincere talks and ties between India and Pakistan will defeat terror and violence between the two countries. Talks will influence terror, terror cannot influence the talks," Para told ANI.

"There is a design behind all these terrorist activities and all of us know that there is a Pakistan which is consistently showing an urge for peace, and within Pakistan, there is a segment which is showing consistent engagement on non-violence and terror," he added.

Para also said there should be better ties to end terror between the two nations.

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.