Seven Indian soldiers and all six attackers were killed in the assault in Pathankot, close to India’s border with Pakistan.
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According to two security officials, the head of outlawed Jaish-e-Mohammad militant group, Maulana Masood Azhar, was put under custody this week.
In the spirit of the cooperative approach, the statement said, it was also decided that in order to carry the process forward, additional information would be required for which the government of Pakistan is considering sending a SIT to Pathankot in consultation with government of India.
Since Wednesday evening, Pakistani media reported that Azhar had been detained two days ago along with top relatives.
Azhar’s “protective custody” does not amount to an arrest. “The road that the Pakistan government is taking in its crackdown against the Jaish-e-Mohammed is very unsafe for this country and its steps against mosques, madrasas and jihad are a danger to the unity and integrity of Pakistan”, Azhar wrote in the Jaish mouthpiece Al Qalam.
A Pakistan PMO statement issued yesterday had said “considerable progress has been made in the investigations being carried out against terrorist elements reportedly linked to the Pathankot incident”. The offices of the organisation are also being traced and sealed.
Though Pakistan denounced the assault and promised action against all suspects linked to it, India on Thursday postponed a scheduled round of talks, which were due Friday, as it evaluated actions taken by Islamabad against Pakistan-based insurgents whom it blames for the base attack. “Further investigations are underway”, it said.
Foreign Office spokesman Qazi Khalilullah said the FS-level talks tomorrow for which Indian Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar was to travel will not take place as planned.
Speaking on the meet, the Official Twitter Account for the Spokesperson of the Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: “Pakistan and India have agreed to reschedule Foreign Secretary level talks in the very near future”.
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India has demanded action against the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad that it suspects of carrying out the attack on the Pathankot air base.
