Punjab: School van falls into drain near Batala, 3 kids killed, 20 injured
Pindi, Gurdaspur, Jan 12 (IBNS): At least three kids were killed while 20 others were injured as an overloaded and speeding school van fell into a 10-ft-deep drain at Pindi village near Batala town, in Gurdaspur district of Punjab on Tuesday, media reports said.
Punjab: Increasing Vulnerabilities
Editor, SAIR; Executive Director, ICM & SATP Two major terrorist attacks - the assault on the Indian Air Force (IAF) Base at Pathankot through January 2, 2016, and January 3, 2016; and the strike at the Dinanagar Police Station in adjacent Gurdaspur on July 27, 2015 - have not only exposed tremendous vulnerabilities in Punjab, but gaping holes in national Counter Terrorism (CT) response protocols, capacities and capabilities. The Pathankot incident is particularly worrisome, providing an index of the extraordinary weakness in the protection of the country's critical strategic assets. The IAF Base constitutes the frontline air defence for any confrontation with Pakistan, and yet the terrorists succeeded in penetrating into the campus and inflicting significant casualties. This was despite nearly 20 hours of clear warning, a definitive identification of the intended target, and a systemic response that had been initiated fairly early on January 1, 2016, after central intelligence agencies picked up conversations by the terrorists with their handlers and their families, and the Punjab Police received specific information about their movements and intention from the 'abducted' Superintendent of Police whose car was used by the terrorists. If the terrorists had the additional advantage of surprise, the damage they could have inflicted can now only be imagined. Evidently, the Pathankot IAF Base would not be unique in its vulnerabilities among various defence and security establishments across the country.
Punjab: Three suspected smugglers with Pakistani sim cards arrested
Chandigarh, Jan 4 (IBNS) Three people, with Pakistani sim cards, were arrested from Punjab's Mohali city on Monday, reports said.
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management On October 14, 2015, at least seven people, including three contestants of the upcoming Local Government Elections (LGEs), were killed and 13 were injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the camp office of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Member of National Assembly (MNA) Sardar Amjad Khosa in the Taunsa Sharif city of Taunsa tehsil (revenue unit) in Dera Ghazi Khan District, Punjab Province. Jama'at-ul-Ahrar (JuA, Group of the Free), a breakaway faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack. JuA 'spokesman' Ehsanullah Ehsan, in an email statement, vowed that TTP-JuA attacks would continue until Sharia'h (Islamic) law was fully implemented in Pakistan: "We want to make it clear to the Pakistani rulers that your policies and military operations can't weaken our determinations, rather our firm determination helps us in achieving and attacking our targets."
Intelligence agencies warned of ISI plot to foment trouble in Punjab
Chandigarh, Oct 21 (IBNS) A fortnight before unrest started over desecration of Sikh holy scriptures, Central intelligence agencies had warned against a possible attempt by Pakistan's intelligence agency, Inter-Services Intelligence, to foment trouble in Punjab, media reports say.
Punjab unrest : Prakash Singh Badal calls emergency cabinet meeting
Chandigarh, Oct 20 (IBNS) Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has called an emergency Cabinet meeting on Tuesday as unrest continues in the state over the desecration of the holy book of Guru Granth Sahib, reports said.
Punjab's missing schoolgirl gang-raped and murdered
Ludhiana, Sept 4 (IBNS) The Punjab schoolgirl whose body was retrieved from a canal on Thursday after she went missing for a day has allegedly been gang-raped and murdered, reports say.
Punjab's drug racket probe: HC stays transfer of ED's Special Public Prosecutor
Chandigarh, Aug 25 (IBNS): The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday stayed the transfer of Special Public Prosecutor of the Enforcement Directorate Suresh Batra.
Editor, SAIR; Executive Director, Institute for Conflict Management & South Asia Terrorism Portal The Home Minister of Punjab Province, Colonel Shuja Khanzada (Retd.) and 22 others, including Deputy Superintendent of Police Shaukat Shah, were killed, and another 23 were injured, in a suicide attack on August 15, 2015. According to reports, the attacks took place when between 50-100 people were attending a jirga at Khanzada's political office in the Shadi Khan Village of Attock District. Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mushtaq Sukhera subsequently disclosed, "There were two suicide bombers, one stood outside the boundary wall and the second one went inside and stood in front of the Minister. The blast by the bomber standing outside ripped the wall which caused the roof to fall flat on the Minister and people gathered there." Sukhera added that Police were investigating whether the attacker inside the building detonated a bomb.
Publisher, SAIR; President, Institute for Conflict Management A day-long standoff between the Punjab Police and three terrorists who had holed up in an abandoned housing complex in the Dinanagar Police Station campus in the Gurdaspur District of Punjab in the early hours of July 27, 2015, ended with the killing of the last of the three terrorists just after 5 pm. A Superintendent of Police and three Home Guards also lost their lives in this gratuitous attack, which included the killing of three civilians in random shootings by the terrorists that led up to the final denouement at the Police Station. Separately, five bombs were found and defused on the Amritsar-Pathankot railway track in Gurdaspur, and initial speculation has linked these to the same group.
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management On January 16, 2015, at least three Shia Muslims were shot dead in Rawalpindi District while they were returning home from a religious gathering. The victims were identified as lawyer Fayyaz Hussain Shah (40), and his two nephews Mir Ghazi Shah (20) and Mir Hamza Shah (22). The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) 'spokesperson' Muhammad Khorasani claimed responsibility for the attack saying that lawyer Fayyaz Hussain Shah was active in his Shia community and was also a local leader of the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).