Punjab has witnessed its second terror attack within six months as terrorist on Saturday struck the Air Force base near Pathankot here.
The first terror attack was also carried out at Dinanagar police station, Pathankot, in July last year, when three armed men entered the police station killing three civilians and four policemen. The sudden rise in terrorist attacks, especially ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections, seem more than just coincidence.
The fact that Pathankot has been targetted the second time is not very hard to understand, keeping in view its proximity to the Pakistan border and also to Jammu where terrorist infiltration was high till recently.
There were clear indications even after the Dinanagar attack that terrorists crossed the border from the Jammu side and then entered Punjab.
Security experts believe that the heightened surveillance on the J&k border has made terrorists from across the border to focus on Punjab border and Pathankot.
However, the sudden increase in terrorist attacks in Punjab is sure to have political repercussions in Punjab.
The Opposition Congress was quick to blame the ruling SAD-BJP government, which had already been facing a lot of heat during its second term for spurt in cases like drug abuse, farmer suicides and social unrest.
Former chief minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday talked about Prime Minister Modi’s Lahore visit saying it reminded him of former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s visit to Lahore, while the Pakistani Army was planning an attack on Kargil.
“I hope it is not the repeat of what happened after the Lahore bus journey,” he observed while pointing out the attack has taken place only after a few days of Mr Modi’s Lahore sojourn.
