‘Anti Pak-India elements won’t succeed in their plans’

Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said that all six terrorists have been neutralised and as per their information, there were no more suspects on the campus.

He said the ISI is under the generals’ command and is composed of army officers, so the spies are controlled by the Pakistani army, which justifies its large budget and nuclear weapons program by citing the Indian menace.

However, reports, not officially confirmed, said that National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval had provided to Pakistani authorities the details like the Pakistani numbers which the attackers had called and their intercepts.

A Pakistan Foreign Ministry statement on Monday said the government was in touch with the Indian government and “is working on the leads provided by it”.

An Indian police officer carries a pistol in one hand and a document folder on the other during a search operation at a residential area near the Indian air force base in Pathankot, India, Monday, Jan.4, 2016.

When asked about the nationality of the terrorists involved in Pathankot attack, NIA chief said there was little doubt that the accused were from Pakistan.

The Minister said: “I can see some gaps (related to security) which will be cleared after the investigation is over”.

In the first known claim of responsibility, the United Jehad Council, an alliance of 13 Kashmir-based rebel groups, claimed that its “highway squad”, which normally attacks military convoys, carried out the attack.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to his Pakistani counterpart, Modi’s office said in a statement, saying the Indian prime minister called on Pakistan “to take firm and immediate action” against those linked to the attackers.

Speaking in Radio Pakistan’s Current Affairs’ program, he said, “We are expecting a positive attitude from Indian side after the Pathankot incident”.

The spokesman added that by hurling allegations at Pakistan, India could neither sabotage the struggle of Kashmiri people in the past nor can it do so now.

He said the NIA has started investigating into the attack. Present government was focusing on to improve its relations with Afghanistan, as, he maintained, Pakistan has always supported peace in the region.