United Jihad Council claims responsibility for Pathankot attack

In a major development, the United Jihad Council (UJC), a conglomerate of militant outfits, on Monday claimed the responsibility for Pathankot Airbase attack in Punjab were all the six militants, seven Indian security personnel, including one official of the National Security Guard, one IAF Garud commando and five Defence Services Corps (DSC) personnel, have been killed. Hizb-ul-Mujahideen is also a constituent of the United Jihad Council.

According to Greater Kashmir, Hussain accused the Indian government of suffering from a “Pakistan phobia”. “By accusing Pakistan for every attack, India neither succeeded in past to malign the Kashmir freedom struggle nor will it get anything in future through malicious propaganda”, Hussain said. “It would be better for the Indian leadership to read the writing on the wall and let the Kashmiri people decide their fate on their own free accord, without further waste of time”.

However, India was mulling cancelling or delaying the Foreign Secretary-level talks with Pakistan following the attack, sources said. It is headed by terrorist Syed Salahuddin.

Four terrorists had already been liquidated last evening, following which the security forces launched a massive combing operation to eliminate two more terrorists hiding in the air base.

Experts in Delhi expressed doubt over the authenticity of the claim as the Pathankot attack is widely believed to be the handiwork of Pakistan-backed Jaish-e-Mohammad terror outfit, which is not part of UJC.

“But it might be a move to divert the attention from the real culprit by claiming that Kashmiri militants are responsible for the attack”. They allegedly entered the base in two groups – the first hijacked the vehicle of a senior police officer and used the auto to enter the base, which holds fighter jets and attack helicopters.