Pak naval attack: All personnel at PNS Mehran to be probed

Islamabad, May 26: A day after shifting the base commander, the Pakistani Navy today (may 26) said that all personnel deployed at Mehran airbase would be probed following reports that the attackers might have had inside help.

All personnel on PNS Mehran, which was stormed by a group of heavily armed terrorists on Sunday night, were being questioned about their whereabouts and activities on the day of the attack, Geo News channel said.

Investigators had found a hi-tech wireless system in an area where two of the attackers were killed, suggesting that the terrorists were in touch with persons outside the airbase who might have been directing the attack, the channel reported.

Security forces also conducted a search operation in areas around the naval airbase and questioned people who worked in nearby fields, the report said. Sniffer dogs were used in the search.

Investigators told the channel that the attackers had fired over 1,100 rounds and seven rockets.

A wedding hall run by the air force at another airbase near PNS Mehran and the air force museum were closed amidst speculation that people who visited these two locations could have conducted surveillance for the attack.

The attackers killed 10 security personnel and destroyed two P3C Orion maritime surveillance aircraft during a 16-hour standoff within the airbase.

Four attackers were killed or blew themselves up while two more were believed to have escaped. The navy has formed an inquiry committee led by Rear Admiral Tehsinullah Khan to probe the incident.

Representatives of naval intelligence and the Federal Investigation Agency are part of the committee. The commander of PNS Mehran was removed from his post on Thursday.

PTI