The foreign secretaries of the nuclear-armed neighbors are due to meet for talks on Jan 15, building on a thaw in relations after a surprise visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif last month.
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Radio Pakistan reported that Sharif telephoned Modi “and conveyed sorrow and grief on the losses in (the) Pathankot terror attack”.
The United Jihad Council, a Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) based militant group, has claimed responsibility for the Pathankot attack.
Modi “strongly emphasised the need for Pakistan to take firm and immediate action against the organisations and individuals responsible for and linked to the Pathankot terrorist attack”, said the statement.
Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar said Tuesday at a news conference held on the base that the battle with militants had ended.
The police officer has said his vehicle was stopped around 11.30 p.m. on Thursday (December 31), while the attack began early on Saturday (January 2).
Indian forces searched Tuesday for the last suspected gunman in an attack at air force base near the Pakistan border that has lasted for four days and left seven government troops dead.
Army soldiers stand in position outside the Air Force base in Pathankot, India, 04 January 2016. Officials have said no military hardware has been damaged in the fighting.
Sharif while talking to Modi pointed out that whenever effort to bring peace between two countries was under way terrorists try to derail process. “I would like to assure everybody that all these air assets have been secured and are safe, there has been no damage to anyone of them”, Brigadier Anupinder Belvi told reporters.
Indian media claimed that the future of Pakistan-India talks after the Pathankot airbase attack seems grim as Indian government has started considering postponing the talks.
All political parties in India have condemned the attack, but there were no demands that the government call off the talks with Pakistan. This statement came from a top American official hours after Islamabad said that they are working on the “proofs” that have been submitted by India.
The phone call from Sharif came as the Pakistan link to the attack became clear.
Pakistan is investigating the possible involvement of terrorist groups operating from its soil in an attack on an Indian airbase in which at least 12 people died.
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“One of the terrorists still has a body vest where they (security forces) can see a grenade stuck…” The two countries have also jostled for influence in nearby Afghanistan, where militants attacked the Indian consulate in the city of Mazar-e-Sharif on Sunday.
