India has identified the four handlers of Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), who were in touch with the six terrorists who stormed the Pathankot airbase early this month. It has shared the telephone numbers and the identity of the handlers with Pakistan and has asked it to act on these individuals. Those identified by the Indian agencies are JeM founder Maulana Masood Azhar, his brother Abdul Rauf Asghar, Ashfaq Ahmed and Kashim Jaan. While Azhar oversaw the operations, his brother Asghar and two others were in touch with the terrorists. India has also given the details of two types of Pakistan made drugs Neuro Bedoxine and Dicloran were found on the bodies as evidence. The government decided to constitute a high-level committee to study the gaps in security along the Pakistan border, especially on the Punjab frontier. It is through a riverine stretch in the Bamiyal sector of Gurdaspur district that the terrorists involved in the Pathankot attack as well as the July 27 attack on the Dinanagar police station are believed to have sneaked into Indian territory. Thus terror track is traced for the attack and it is time to beef up security in Punjab border.
C.K. Ramani
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