Nawaz promises to ‘bring out the truth’ in Indian air base assault

John Kerry hopes Pathankot attack won’t derail Pak-India talks

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said that Pakistan is swiftly carrying out investigation into a terrorist attack on an Indian air base in a transparent manner and will bring out the truth. “The world will see our effectiveness and sincerity in this regard,” he told US Secretary of State John Kerry who telephoned him Saturday evening.

Kerry’s phone call came a day after Pakistan’s civil and military leadership decided to cooperate with New Delhi on the January 2 attack on the Indian Air Force base at Pathankot which, Indian officials claim, was carried out by gunmen from Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) militant group. This is notwithstanding the fact that the United Jihad Council, an umbrella of Kashmiri separatist groups, has claimed responsibility for the brazen assault that continued for three days.



“Pakistan is committed to eliminating terrorism and will not allow any group to use its soil to carry out terrorist operations abroad,” Premier Nawaz told Secretary Kerry. “All state institutions in Pakistan are fully committed to eliminating the scourge of terrorism,” he was quoted as saying in an official communiqué issued by the Prime Minister House.

Secretary Kerry said the United States applauded the prime minister’s leadership role over Pakistan-India relations. In such a difficult environment, he said, the leadership like that of Prime Minister Nawaz was needed.  “We hope that the talks between both countries will continue despite the fact that terrorists have tried to thwart it,” he added.

The US foreign policy wizard said continuation of India-Pakistan talks is needed in the interest of regional stability, and the leadership role by both the prime ministers was required to ensure continuous dialogue. He also extended full support and cooperation to the prime minister to find out the truth in Pathankot attack.



Indian intelligence agencies have claimed that they have intercepted communication between the Pathankot attackers and their handlers in Pakistan before the attack. They also claim that the attackers had sneaked into Indian Punjab from Multan district of Pakistani Punjab.

Sources told The Express Tribune that the prime minister also apprised Secretary Kerry about the progress Pakistan has made thus far on the ‘leads’ provided by the Indian government.

Sources further said that New Delhi has simultaneously shared the telephone transcripts between the attackers and their handlers with five other countries – US, UK, France, Japan and South Korea – requesting them to ask Pakistan to bring the perpetrators to justice. These countries, sources said, have promised India that they would take up the matter with Pakistani officials.

According to the transcripts, sources said, the attackers spoke to the JeM chief in Sialkot – and then one of them talked to his mother and other relatives in Bahawalpur for 20 minutes.



The prime minister told Secretary Kerry that Pakistani law enforcement agencies have detained some suspects from Sialkot and Bahawalpur based on the two phone numbers India had provided as ‘leads’, sources said. They added that the detained suspects are JeM office-bearers from Sialkot and relatives of the one of the attackers from Bahawalpur.

Sources said India has updated Pakistan and five other countries on the investigation it has carried out so far into the Pathankot attack. Indian law enforcement agencies have detained the family of Salwinder Singh, the superintendent of police, whose vehicle was hijacked by the attackers and then drove it to the heavily guarded air base.



Sources said Premier Nawaz also apprised Secretary Kerry that the national security advisers of Pakistan and India were in contact with each other. Secretary Kerry would also call up Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to apprise him of his telephone talk with the Pakistani prime minister.


Published in The Express Tribune, January 10^th, 2016.