Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday night condemned the deadly bombing at the Wagah border in Pakistan, sources said officials were assessing the situation to see the security and operational implications.
“The Wagah border is a single point of entry for both immigration as well as trade,” said an official source, “And any attack on that single point could shut down all those processes. However, since the suicide bombing was quite some distance away from the actual checkpoint, we think these will operate as normal on Monday.”
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who is in Mauritius for a bilateral visit is expected back in Delhi only by Monday night. One concern is of the potential security threat to Indians and Pakistanis crossing over on a daily basis.
Security had been stepped up in the Pakistani state of Punjab for the past few weeks as this is the month of Muharram, and there were fears of attacks by anti-Shia groups. Just two weeks ago, Pakistani Rangers set up a new set of barricades on the Wagah road leading to the border checkpoint just to deter any such attack. Security officials said it was still unclear which group was behind the attack, as that would indicate the specific target of the suicide bomber. News channels reported that the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and its affiliate Jundullah Pakistan had claimed responsibility for the bombing.
