Sharif to Modi: Pakistan to Punish Terrorist After Indian Air Base Attack

Modi received a call this afternoon from the Prime Minister of Pakistan regarding the terrorist attack on the Pathankot airbase, the PMO said.

The assault came just days after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a surprise visit to Lahore to meet Pakistani leader Nawaz Sharif.

“The government of Pakistan has spoken very powerfully to this and it’s certainly our expectation that they’ll treat this exactly the way they’ve said they would”, State Department Spokesman John Kirby said yesterday on the attack by Pakistani terrorists on the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot.

Asked if there was any time-frame within which Pakistan should take action, he said, “We are not imposing any deadline”.

At least seven troops and five militants have been killed in the fighting.

Mr Modi advocated an “instant” answer to the Pathankot base strike in Punjab after his counterpart Nawaz Sharif called him to talk about the violence. India says the group is backed by Pakistan, but Islamabad denies this.

Addressing a news conference after a visit to the forward base, he said the terrorists were neutralised in an operation that lasted for more than 36 hours since 3.30am on Saturday but combing operations are still on.

Pakistan also expects DNA evidence, bodies and other forms of identification from India “within days”, the official said.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack that started Saturday morning, but Sharad Kumar, chief of India’s National Investigation Agency, said a preliminary investigation based on telephone intercepts suggested the attackers were from Pakistan.

The Pathankot Air Force Station, where a MIG-21 Bison squadron and MI-35 attack helicopters are based, is spread over 1,900 acres.

The Modi Government wants to see if Pakistan is willing to walk the talk in the spirit of the new friendship and the promises made by the Pakistani Government. In the presentation, the R&AW said the Pakistan Army was against taking action on terror groups active in Jammu and Kashmir such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hizbul Mujahideen and Jaish-e-Mohammad. “Thousands of Pakistani citizens – innocent Pakistani citizens – have been killed or injured by terrorist attacks”.

“The minute I saw them I realised that they were terrorists”, Police Superintendent Salwinder Singh told media. The alliance has been described by many analysts in the past as an asset of the Pakistani military.

“Operations will continue to be conducted until we can render the base fully safe”, said Singh.

Pakistan has strongly condemned the incident.

The attack precedes a meeting between top foreign ministry bureaucrats of the two countries in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, on Jan 15 to discuss steps to settle outstanding issues, including Kashmir.