“In the aftermath of a terror attack, if you ask me what do you give priority to – a terrorist attack or a diplomatic dialogue, I think the answer should be obvious”, foreign secretary S Jaishankar said during an interactive session at the Raisina Dialogue, a conclave on geo-economics and geo-politics.
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India has blamed militants from the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed militant group for the assault on the site in Pathankot district, which is located about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the Pakistan border. Till that happens, New Delhi has indicated that it will not reschedule talks between the Foreign Secretaries of both countries that were derailed after the air base was targeted.
“Pakistan’s non-state actors were definitely behind the attack”.
On Tuesday, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar told Parliament that the Pathankot attack was carried out by Pakistan’s “non-state actors” who operate with the support of the Pakistani establishment.
After a meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday, Aziz said it was unfortunate that the Pathankot attack disrupted the resumption of secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan. “The picture you see is of really parallel processes which are working”, the Indian foreign secretary said.
“A case has been registered and the special investigation team (SIT) is likely to visit India in the next few days”.
On the context of improving ties with Pakistan, he said India was for a “much more modern relationship” with Islamabad.
The First Information Report over the Pathankot attack does not name Masood Azhar or the JeM – who India accused of masterminding the strike.
He said in his written reply that a group of terrorists attacked the Air Force base in Pathankot, Punjab, in the intervening night of January and 2, 2016 and a joint operation by the Army, Air Force and National Security Guard (NSG) was conducted to neutralize the terrorist attack. But on Tuesday the Indian defence minister said the militants could not have carried out the attack without Islamabad’s support.
Soon after the Pathankot attack, Pakistan set up a six-member probe team to follow up on the leads India had provided.
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“Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif called Narendra Modi immediately after the attack and assured him of Pakistan’s support in the investigation”.
