Tribune News ServiceNew Delhi, September 24
The incident of militants storming into the Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar today in which 30 persons were killed and 100 injured is a suicide attack by Islamic militants who embarked on the operation to fulfil certain covert objectives of Pakistan in wake of the successful elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
“The modus operandi of the terrorists and the fact that they have entered such a huge complex they can not come out alive from clearly shows that it is a suicide attack which Islamic militant outfits active in Jammu and Kashmir like the Lashkar-e-Toiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammad have been launching in J&K for long,” a top source in the government said late tonight.
The Vajpayee government’s response to the audacious attack in a sensitive state capital like Gandhinagar was quick and comprehensive. In the absence of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, who is in the Maldives on an official visit, Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani held a series of meetings throughout the evening with security officials, bureaucrats and intelligence agencies to gather details about the attack and firm up the government’s response to it.
It is understood that a Pakistan-supported terrorist outfit was behind the Gandhinagar incident because Islamabad is unhappy with the unexpectedly large turnout of voters in the Jammu & Kashmir elections.
Sources said the terrorists had made reconnaissance of the targeted temple and had also probably made dry runs before launching the operation. The terrorists are well-trained, and armed to the teeth with sophisticated weapons.
