Pathankot attack: Masood Azhar under protective custody, says Pakistan Minister

The detention of about a dozen members of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), said to be behind the attack, was also welcomed by India as an important and positive first step, although it emphasised that it wanted action on the ground.

Another official said that Pakistan was yet to take any stringent action against the accused named by India in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case, though the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) registered a case.

Swarup welcomed Pakistan’s arrests in raids across the country, and said India would work with a team of investigators Pakistan is sending to Pathankot, near the border between the two countries.

It’s official. The foreign secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan will not take place on Friday, as scheduled earlier.

The foreign office spokesman said that Pakistan is in contact with India for new dates for the proposed talks between Pakistan’s foreign secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry and his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Islamabad. The announcement followed a high-level meeting Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif chaired here on Wednesday to review the progress in the investigation against alleged Pakistani masterminds of the terror attack.

Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah on Thursday confirmed that Jaish-i-Mohammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar is under “protective custody”. “The meeting reiterated that in line with our decision to counter and completely eliminate terrorism, Pakistan would remain engaged with India on this issue”, the official statement said.

Pakistani media quoted unidentified sources as saying that “concerned authorities” interrogated Masood Azhar and the others about the Pathankot attack that left seven security personnel dead.

Jaish-e-Mohammad (Army of Mohammad) has long fought Indian forces in India’s part of the disputed region of Kashmir.

He said that he had no information about a meeting between the two respective National Security Advisors in Paris as has been reported sections of the media.

“Mutual consultations are on regarding the rescheduling of the talks”, he added. While the Indian government’s scepticism is not altogether unwarranted, the lukewarm response received as a result of the arrests implies that it is still not ready to trust the Pakistani side. “Further investigations are underway”, the statement said.

“This is the first time that Pakistan has acted so quickly”, said former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal, observing that after Azhar’s arrest, the Centre should not have any problem in going ahead with the talks. Is India’s satisfaction borne out of a need to justify Prime Minister’s unprecedented outreach toward Pakistan?