Pakistani officials confirmed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had spoken to Modi, expressing his sadness over the attack and saying Pakistan would investigate any information that India provides.
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Aijaz Rahi/ASSOCIATED PRESS Military funerals were held Monday for soldiers killed in the attack. Modi condemned the Pathankot attackers as “enemies of humanity”-a statement that was read by some Indian observers as insufficiently blunt in calling out Pakistan”.
The Prime Minister “strongly emphasized the need for Pakistan to take firm and immediate action against the organizations and individuals responsible for and linked to the Pathankot terrorist attack”, the PMO said in a statement. “Our Army is not replying, but we will not remain quiet but attack them on the virtual world”, said an underground hacker to MAIL TODAY, adding that hackers among themselves are sharing details of vulnerability in Pakistani website to deface them.
In reference to the Monday night statement by the Foreign Office the State Department spokesman said: “The government of Pakistan has spoken…very powerfully to this, and it’s certainly our expectation that they’ll do exactly what – they’ll treat this exactly the way they’ve said they will”.
According to the Indian media reports NSA Ajit Doval provided, “Specific and actionable information in this regard to Pakistan”, which The News understands have been conveyed through diplomatic channels.
Indian officials say the violence has been directed by parts of Pakistan’s “deep state”, which opposes the peace process, although the Pakistani government denies the accusation.
The attack, which left over a dozen dead, including six militants, has been claimed by the Kashmiri-based United Jihad Council, an umbrella organisation for a number of groups opposed to Indian rule in Kashmir.
The Indian government, however, officially has neither directly blamed Pakistan nor said anything as to who was the mastermind.
Some gaps led to security lapses, leading to the pre-dawn terror attack on Saturday, the minister said. Instead, Modi invited Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to his inauguration. He told Modi that “whenever a serious effort to bring peace between two countries was underway, terrorists try to derail the process”. However, unlike the past, the Indian prime minister should go for a well thought-out approach while talking with his counterpart in Pakistan.
Since Modi took office in May 2014, India-Pakistan relations have experienced more ups and downs than a child’s yo-yo. Without any build-up or forewarning, the two countries’ national security advisers conferred in Bangkok in December.
Another officer, National Security Guard Lieutenant Colonel Niranjan Kumar, was killed in a grenade explosion during combing operations. It was not clear who was directing the operation and from where. “We are moving step by step to sanitize the area and it’s too early to say when the operation will be over”, said another military official who asked not to be named.
In Kerala, NSG commando Lt. Col. E.K. Niranjan, killed during mopping up operations at the air base on Sunday, was cremated in Elumbulsherry village in Palakkad district. Several foreigners undergoing training were also present at the base, as were 3,000 civilian families.
Quite aside the fact that if we are not even willing to call a spade a spade, and rather than feel embarrassed or feel that it will spoil the atmospherics, use our candidness as a leverage in talks, we prefer to provide even more alibis.
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Mr Parrikar said troops took more than three days to “neutralise the militants” because of the size of the air base.
