Pakistan envoy cancels visit to northwest Indian state after terror attack

Pakistan's envoy to India has canceled a visit to the northwestern Indian state Punjab after a terrorist attack killed seven people there Monday, said local media Tuesday evening.

Local daily The Times of India online quoted official sources as saying that Pakistani high commissioner Abdul Basit called off his two-day visit to the state meant to start Wednesday.

The chief minister of Punjab said earlier he would not meet Basit following the deadly attack by three unidentified gunmen in his state.

Meanwhile, several senior officials of the Pakistani high commission were not given permit to visit Punjab along with the high commissioner, according to the report.

Basit was supposed to address gatherings at the Center for Research in Rural and Industrial Development, PHD Chamber of Commerce, Chandigarh Press Club and Punjab University during the visit plan.

Punjab state borders Pakistan and is one of the most militarily sensitive areas of India.

The state's chief minister Prakash Singh Badal said he had canceled a scheduled meeting with the Pakistani high commissioner.

Three unidentified terrorists stormed a police station in Dinanagar in Punjab's Gurdaspur district on Monday, killing seven people and wounding 10 others.

Indian officials said the three militants were suspected to be from the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba terror outfit.

But local analysts said the attack could be staged by a Sikh separatist group calling for independence of a Khalistan state in northwest India.

Among the dead was a police superintendent, Baljit Singh, and three security personnel and three civilians. The three terrorists were also killed in the 11-hour confrontation with Indian security forces.

Pakistan has condemned the attack but has not responded to Indian accusation of involvement of the Pakistani terror group. Endi