Secretary Kerry extended full support and cooperation to the prime minister in finding out the truth on the Pathankot terror incident.
Advertisement
The Prime Minister briefed Kerry that Pakistan was swiftly carrying out investigations into Pathankot incident and very soon will reach a conclusion.
Indian authorities have blamed the attack on Pathankot airbase on the Jaish-e-Mohammed, which has been banned by Pakistan but continues to be active in several parts of the country, including the southern part of Punjab province.
Pakistani officials say Foreign Secretary-level talks with India are scheduled to take place on Jan.15.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khwaja Muhammad Asif has said that no terrorist group will be allowed to derail the dialogue process with India. “All state institutions in Pakistan are fully committed to eliminating the scourge of terrorism”, he was quoted as saying in an official communiqué issued by the Prime Minister House.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi firmly told Sharif on the phone earlier this week that India wants to see urgent action taken against those who conceived and executed the attack.
Aziz told the house that the foreign secretaries of both the countries would discuss modalities of comprehensive bilateral dialogue and its timeframe during the meeting in Islamabad.
National Security Adviser Ajit Doval is understood to have spoken to his Pakistani counterpart ex-General Nasser Khan Janjua and shared all relevant evidences including voice data, they said. Security forces on Friday said they had finally sanitized the sprawling installation after a lengthy search operation, PTI said.
“At the very least, Pakistan can use its extensive intelligence network to find out who made the calls that were reportedly made from the handlers from this side of the border”, The Nation said in an editorial.
He was briefed about the barbed wire fencing along the border and the need to strengthen the border belt with better and complete fencing and more ground troops to prevent infiltration by terrorists in future, army sources said.
Seven security personnel were killed last week in a gun battle between Indian security forces and militants, which ensued after a group of armed men wearing army fatigues attacked the base. However, the militants attack on the Pathankot airbase has raised doubts if the talks would be held.
Advertisement
He also visited the two-storey billet for airmen’s accommodation where the last two terrorists were killed after the structure was blown up by security forces.
