Consult opposition on Pathankot attack: Congress tells Modi

As uncertainty prevailed over Foreign Secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan in the wake of Pathankot terror strike, the USA today said “warmer” ties would be in the interest of the two nations, but it is for their leaders to decide their national interest.

Noting that Pakistan “also publicly and privately condemned this recent attack on the Indian airbase, he said, “we’ve been clear with the highest levels of the Government of Pakistan that it must continue to target all militant groups”.

The Congress on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to consult opposition parties on the terror attack on the Pathankot Air Force Base in Punjab in which seven security personnel have been killed. In this regard, Modi strongly emphasized to Sharif the need for Pakistan to take firm and immediate action against the organizations and individuals responsible for and linked to the Pathankot terrorist attack. The spokesman said tackling terrorism was a shared challenge of the countries in the region and the United States wanted everybody to treat it in that manner.

“And we continue to engage with the Government of Pakistan to that end”, he said adding “Pakistan itself has said and acknowledged, that it’s not going to discriminate among terrorist groups and it will continue to take the fight”.

A statement Tuesday from Sharif’s office said his government was “working on the leads and information provided by the Indian government”.

US State Department spokesperson John Kirby said, “As we’ve said before, this is an issue that, as are so many issues between India and Pakistan, we want to see them work out bilaterally”.

Some analysts have suggested the rare targeting of an Indian military installation outside disputed Kashmir may have been aimed at derailing talks between the nuclear-armed neighbours, who have fought three wars since gaining independence from Britain in 1947.

Asked about a report that President Barack Obama has invited the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan in March, Earnest said he was “not aware of any upcoming meetings between the President and the leaders of India and Pakistan”. Urdu, widely spoken in Pakistan, can be mostly understood by Hindi speakers.

Modi’s comments came as India’s defence minister said the Pathankot attack had exposed “some gaps” in security following media criticism of how the incident was handled.

He stressed that the base was a “complicated area” spread over almost 2,000 hectares (5,000 acres) and housing 3,000 families.

The United Jehad Council (UJC), an umbrella grouping of Kashmiri militant groups based in Pakistan headed by Syed Salahuddin, on Monday claimed responsibility for the attack.

The terrorists were believed to owe allegiance to Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed(JeM).