Punjab, JK Police on high alert as two suspected Pakistani terrorists enter Pathankot

The development comes ahead of the start of the Amarnath Yatra. Punjab police were already working to secure the Yatra route.

Last night, the police control room in Pathankot received a call from a local resident of Kot Bathian, a village near the international border. The caller claimed that two heavily armed terrorists had forced him at gunpoint to serve them dinner at his farmhouse.

Police raised a high alert in Pathankot and Gurdaspur after this phone call, and now a search operation is underway.

The police had already been on high alert in the region since June 15. Starting June 29, the government will permit Shri Amarnath pilgrims to enter Jammu and Kashmir from Lakhanpur. Prior to this, volunteers who annually set up free langars (community kitchens) for the pilgrims have already started arriving on the pilgrimage route since June 8. Dozens of vehicles carrying langar volunteers arrive daily.

Ten days ago, the Punjab Police issued instructions to increase security in the border areas of Pathankot district, especially near Kathua district, and to conduct 24-hour patrols in coordination with other security agencies. Notably, the Bamiyal area of Pathankot district borders Pakistan, adjacent to Nagri and Kotpunnu in the Hiranagar area of Kathua district.

Similarly, Pathankot police intensified security at the Madhopur checkpoint, located near Lakhanpur in Punjab. Punjab police ensured that every vehicle traveling between Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab passed under strict security surveillance.

There was also a strict police presence at the Sunderchak Chak checkpoint near Kirdiyan Gandyal in Pathankot. Additionally, security was increased on the road connecting Dunera via the Atal Setu bridge, in response to rising terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir.

However, so far, the police have not been able to locate the suspected terrorists. The Ravi River forms the boundary with Pakistan, and there have been openings in the iron fence that allowed terrorists to enter Punjab twice in 2015, leading to attacks on a police station in Dinanagar and an airforce base in Pathankot.