- Indian FO spokesperson says New Delhi will decide on talks after Pakistan acts on ‘actionable intelligence’ it has given on Pathankot airbase attack
- Pakistani officials say Indian PM tricked PM Nawaz by making him agree to investigating Indian allegations against Jaish-e-Muhammad
As the top Pakistani leadership on Thursday took up the initial report of the investigation made into the ‘evidence’ presented by India regarding the Pathankot airbase attack, New Delhi has stepped up pressure on Islamabad by saying that it is ‘awaiting’ Pakistan’s response on the information it provided, following which it will decide on the resumption of bilateral peace talks scheduled for later this month.
“We have shared ‘actionable intelligence’ that those who planned the assault came from Pakistan. As far as we are concerned, the ball is now in Pakistan’s court,” Indian spokesman Vikas Swarup told reporters in New Delhi when asked if the talks were on.
“The immediate issue in front of us is Pakistan’s response to the terrorist attack.”A meeting between the foreign secretaries of both nations had been tentatively scheduled for January 15. Cross-border terrorism is again in focus after the terrorist attack on the Pathankot air force base,” he said, adding that India was not derailing the dialogue.
Swarup said Pakistan has assured India of prompt action against those involved or responsible for the attack and India is waiting for its action against the terrorists.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif, who assured of prompt response,” he said, adding, “We now await prompt and decisive action from the Pakistan prime minister.”
“We have extended the hand of friendship towards Pakistan but cross-border terrorism is not tolerable,” he said, adding that now the ball is in Pakistan’s court and now it is up to them how they respond. “We want friendly relations with all of our neighboring states,” the official asserted.
PAKISTAN DISCUSSES ‘EVIDENCE’:
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif chaired a high-level meeting to chalk-out a strategy to deal with the situation evolving in the aftermath of the Pathankot attack.
The meeting was attended by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Adviser to PM on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, Tariq Fatemi, National Security Advisor Lt Gen (r) Nasser Khan Janjua, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhary and Director General Intelligence Bureau Aftab Sultan.
During the meeting, the prime minister was given briefings by Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and Lt Gen (r) Nasser Khan Janjua over the initial investigation into the evidences shared by India.
A senior Pakistani official said India provided intelligence that included telephone numbers, call intercepts, and locations where they believe the attackers or their handlers were.
Pakistan is following up the leads, the official said, and hopes that the talks would not be canceled while it explores them.
MODI TRAPPED NAWAZ:
Meanwhile, a top Pakistani official told Pakistan Today that it seems as if Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had been tricked by Indian premier Modi when the former called him to condole the loss of lives in the terrorist attack.
“It seems that Indians have trapped Pakistan in a Catch-22 situation on the diplomatic front. The diplomatic maneuvering by the Indian establishment has zeroed down all diplomatic advantages gained by Pakistan during the past six months,” the official said, requesting anonymity.
“India is pressing Pakistan either to accept dialogue only on the subject of terrorism or face international isolation. We feel that Prime Minister Nawaz has been tricked by his PM Modi. Only two weeks back, it was India which was being pressed by the international community to hold talks with Pakistan on all issues, including Kashmir. But after this attack, the situation has reversed,” he added.
The source said that India is now publicly claiming that the foreign secretary-level dialogue between both the countries would only be held to discuss terrorism excluding Kashmir – a stance Pakistan had refused to accept leading to the cancellation of the scheduled meeting between National Security Advisers of both the countries recently.
“Nawaz erred by agreeing to the Indian demand of investigating allegations that the attackers had come from Pakistan and were receiving directions from handlers in Pakistan,” the source said.
“Even before the probe, it seems that in diplomatic terms Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has accepted the responsibility for the attack,” the official said, adding that now Pakistan had been pushed into a tight corner by the Indian strategists.
Indian media claimed all six attackers had sneaked in from across the border and were members of the banned Jaish-e-Muhammad militant group; although an umbrella of Kashmiri militant groups, United Jihad Council, claimed responsibility on Monday.
The standoff after the apparent thaw is part of a pattern over the years. Attempts to restart talks have been frequently thwarted by attacks between the two countries.
With such an eventuality in mind, the national security advisers of the two countries agreed on a process during a meeting in early December to keep dialogue going in case of a potential disruption, the Pakistani official said.
As a result, Indian NSA Ajit Doval has spoken at least three times by phone with his Pakistani counterpart, Naseer Khan Janjua, since the attack, including last Saturday evening when the fighting was still ongoing, the Pakistani official said.