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PM Narendra Modi visits Pathankot air base

Sharif, during the telephonic conversation, told Kerry that Pakistan is “swiftly” carrying out investigations in a “transparent” manner into the terror attack on the air base.

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Sharif assured Modi over phone that his government would take “prompt and decisive action against the terrorists”.

“They (Pakistan) have said publicly that they are going to investigate”.

The United States has joined the efforts openly and publicly to save the ambiance for restoration of talks between Pakistan and India scheduled for next week.

He added that the world will see Pakistan’s “effectiveness and sincerity” in the Pathankot attack probe.

The operation that lasted four days, in which seven security personnel were martyred and six terrorists killed.

Earlier, Pakistan said it needed “concrete evidence” from India for acting against the terrorists it suspected of being involved in the terror strike at Pathankot airbase instead of leads suggesting the attack was planned and directed from here.

Participants at a high-level meeting in Islamabad “reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to cooperate with India to completely eradicate the menace of terrorism” Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s office said in a statement.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has on Friday said that any statement about Pathankot attack before complete investigations would be premature.

“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.

The derailed talks had got revived after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a surprise stopover at Lahore on December 25 to greet Mr Sharif on his birthday, raising hopes for improvement in Indo-Pak ties.

Besides taking stock of the ground situation of the Pathankot airbase during his 90-minute-long stay, the PM also took detailed briefing from Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha and NSG officials about the attack and counter-offensive launched by the security forces. Six terrorists, suspected to be from Pakistan, have been killed in the course of the gunfight that started on January 2.

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.

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The minister said Pakistan strongly condemns terrorism in every form as terrorists are enemies of humanity.

UK Minister of State and Employement Priti Patel