As reports emerged that Pakistan had detained Masood Azhar in connection with the Pathankot attack, a write-up by the JeM chief himself appeared online, where he warned the Sharif government against the raids it carried out on JeM’s offices in the country, according to a report in The Indian Express. “Further investigations are underway”, the statement said.
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“We have not received official word on detention of Masood Azhar”, said Vikas Swaroop, spokesperson for the Indian foreign ministry.
The meeting, which took place at the PM’s residence, was attended by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and other senior officials.
The Foreign Secretary level talks between Pakistan and India will not be held on January 15, ARY News reported.
However, the MEA late on Wednesday evening said there was no official confirmation from Islamabad on the arrest of Masood Azhar.
India says it has provided “actionable intelligence” to Pakistan to act against those who masterminded the Pathankot attack, one week after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi flew to Lahore and met Sharif.
Pakistan is also considering sending a special investigation team to Pathankot as more information would be required to carry forward the process of cooperation with India. The offices of the organisation are also being sealed.
On Wednesday, India had deferred a decision on whether to go ahead with the Foreign Secretary-level talks with Pakistan and wanted to take it after NSA Ajit Doval’s return from Paris.
Pathankot air base of India was stormed by the six attackers on 2 Janurary, after the attack India claimed that the handlers of attackers were in Pakistan.
The source added that a proposal is under consideration for a meeting of the National Security Advisers of the two countries. Suhag also said there was “no” lack of coordination and local commanders had complete liberty in planning and execution of the counter-terror operation.
The route taken by terrorists from the point of the abduction of a Superintendent of Police and to the Air Force Base on December 31 – January 1 has been ascertained, it said.
The Pakistan government banned 25 religious and other organisations, including the Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT) in 2009.
Jaish-e-Mohammed, meaning “The Army of Muhammad” in Urdu, seeks to retake the disputed region of Kashmir from India.
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India has long accused Pakistan of failing to crack down on militant groups that conduct cross-border attacks, including the organization it blames for 2008 strikes in Mumbai that left 166 people dead.
