India demands prompt action after airbase attack

The fate of the talks rested on Pakistan’s response to the information, Indian government spokesman Vikas Swarup said on Thursday.

Soon after landing at the air base, targetted exactly a week ago in a pre-dawn attack, Modi met senior Indian Air Force (IAF) and army officers.

The combing operation began after the six Pakistani terrorists, believed to belong to the Jaish-e-Mohammed, were gunned down in a four-day gunfight.

“We are investigating the Pathankot incident while the foreign secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan are intact”, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said.

As Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif assures Indian leadership about his government’ sincerity to pursue the lead provided by India, security agencies are trying to collect as much evidence about the attackers as possible.

Replying to another question on the status of the Foreign Secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan, scheduled for January 15 in Islamabad, Aziz said: “Let me tell you the talks are intact and will take place as per schedule”.

Air Force chief Air Marshal Arup Raha and National Security Guard officials briefed the PM about the attack and the counteroffensive launched against the perpetrators with the help of maps, aerial pictures and operational photographs.

As both India and Pakistan realise that it’s time for them to work together to shrink the space for all brands of terrorists, Prime Minister Sharif has held two high-level meetings with his officials in the last 48 hours to review his government’s action plan.

He also directed his national security adviser to keep communication channels open with his Indian counterpart and ensure that the renewed dialogue between the countries is not derailed.

Mr Sharif said Pakistan would not allow anyone to use its soil to carry out terror operations overseas, it added.

US State Department spokesperson John Kirby has said Pakistan knows well the threat of terrorism and Islamabad has vowed that they are not going to discriminate between terrorist groups. “The immediate issue in front of us is Pakistan’s response to the terrorist attack and the actionable intelligence provided to it”.

Sharif, in his recent telephonic conversation with Modi immediately after the Pathankot assault, had promised full cooperation to New Delhi over alleged linkages of the terrorists with some elements on this side of the border.