India will help Pakistan probe Pathankot attack

The Indian government’s decision to go with the foreign secretary meeting has led to visible action by Pakistan against Jaish leaders and camps. As of now only Pakistan government has said that we want to send a SIT.

India Foreign Office spokesperson Vikas Swarup said that Indo-Pak Foreign Secretaries talks have been postponed but will be rescheduled soon.

At a foreign ministry briefing in Islamabad, Pakistan foreign ministry spokesman Qazi Khalilullah said that mutual consultations were on to reschedule the talks, PTI said.

India also said it has agreed to Pakistan’s proposal of sending a Special Investigative Team (SIT) here to examine the Pathankot terrorist attack.

The statement also said that several members of the Jaish-e-Mohammad militant group had been detained, and that the offices of the organization were being traced and sealed. “So far what Pakistan has done we welcome”, he said.

“The statement conveys that considerable progress has been made in the investigation being carried out against terrorist elements linked to the Pathankot incident”, said Swarup. The offices of the organisation are also being sealed.

According to reports, it has been chose to wait for the return of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval from Paris today for a final decision to be taken with regard to the talks.

Praising Indian and Pakistani leaders for not allowing the Pathankot terror attack to develop into a full-blown crisis, a daily here on Thursday urged the government to “permanently” dismantle the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) that has been blamed for the mayhem.

Amid doubts, New Delhi has not said if it will take part in the talks.

In 2008, Islamabad turned down New Delhi’s demand it dispatch the head of its intelligence agency to India after Pakistani militants carried out a series of high-profile attacks across Mumbai that left 166 people dead.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had a two-hour long meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi last evening.

Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar who was taken into custody by authorities yesterday has hit out at Pakistan for his detention.

But, continued engagement between the two sides indicates that India this time is willing to give time to Pakistan, instead of providing it with a chance to close its file on the matter, our correspondent adds.