New Delhi: Police in Indian Punjab searched the vicinity of Pathankot after a parliamentary panel claimed some “terrorists were still hiding” in villages close to the “vulnerable” Pathankot airbase.

Reports quoted the Punjab police as saying they carried out a massive door-to-door search in at least 28 hamlets.

“We conducted a search operation in 28 villages starting at 5am for five hours. We asked people whether they have seen any person or suspect who is not from their village. They said they have not seen anyone,” Press Trust of India quoted Pathankot SSP Rakesh Kaushal as saying.

Search operations were carried out in areas inhabited by Gujjars, officials said. “We found nothing suspicious,” a police officer said. He, however, observed that security was tightened in the border district, which had witnessed a terror attack at the airbase in January.

On Tuesday, Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs P. Bhattacharya said in Jammu, “After going back from Pathankot, we made our suggestions to the government and said that there can be further attack on Pathankot ... We were told by the villagers that some terrorists were still hiding in the villages there. Do you know that a few days ago, the government asked the CRPF, the BSF and the army to guard the air force station because some terrorists are hiding there...,” Bhattacharya said.

Notably, early this month, shoot-at-sight orders were issued at airbase and security was stepped up following intelligence inputs, according to reports.

Published in Dawn, June 23rd, 2016