Pathankot assault: India seeks action against attackers before talks

Indian and Pakistani foreign secretaries to meet on March 14-15 in Nepal where officials will discuss Saarc conference


Aditi Phadnis March 02, 2016
Indian security personnel stand guard next to a barricade outside the Indian Air Force (IAF) base at Pathankot in Punjab, India, January 2, 2016. PHOTO: REUTERS

NEW DELHI:


A day after India linked the Pakistan government to the January 2 terrorist attack on the Pathankot airbase, the country’s top foreign policy bureaucrat said action against the attackers would take priority over bilateral talks.


“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,” said Indian Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar.

Pathankot base assault: India warns of calling off talks

He was speaking at a conference co-sponsored by India’s Ministry of External Affair and the Observer Research Foundation called ‘Raisina Dialogue’ in New Delhi.

Jaishankar’s comments were a departure from a statement of India’s envoy in Islamabad two weeks ago in which he had delinked revival of the stalled talks from progress in Pathankot investigations.

India’s Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar told parliament on Tuesday that the Pakistani non-state actors who allegedly carried out the airbase assault had state support.

India has blamed the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) militant group for the attack. And talks between the foreign secretaries scheduled for mid-January were deferred in the wake of the attack.

“Most people in this country [India] want to treat Pakistan as a normal neighbour. So we would like to do with Pakistan what we do with everybody else. But the fact is that there are obstacles and we know what the obstacles are,” Jaishankar added, emphasising on the need to remove the obstacles.

Despite tensions, Jaishankar said, both countries were continuing ‘parallel processes’ with the respective national security advisers and to a certain extent between him and his Pakistani counterpart remain in touch with each other.

Pathankot air base attack: Pakistan working on Indian ‘leads’

“It takes two hands to clap,” he said as he underlined the need for connectivity between the two hostile neighbours.

Asked about his overview of India-Pakistan ties, Jaishankar said New Delhi wanted a ‘much more modern relationship’ with Islamabad but it would require a change in attitude towards a number of issues with terrorism being the central one.

However, he insisted India was trying to make efforts to improve ties with Pakistan. “I cannot think of any prime minister of India who did not strive for better relations with Pakistan. There may be differences in nuances, pace and packaging,” he added.

Indian and Pakistani foreign secretaries could now meet on March 14-15 in the Nepal capital of Kathmandu where officials are expected to gather to discuss the upcoming Saarc conference.

India seeks details of four Jaish-linked men

India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) has written to Pakistani authorities seeking details of four JeM-linked men, according to the Times of India.

Pathankot attack: Pakistan to send special investigation team to India

The NIA sent letters through a special court asking about the phone numbers dialled by the Pathankot attackers and the people to whom these numbers belong to. They have also sought details and pictures of Khayam Baber’s sons, one of whom was involved in the Pathankot assault.

Eight ex-servicemen arrested

An Indian state minister told the Rajya Sabha, upper house of parliament, on Wednesday that eight former servicemen had been arrested by the police for allegedly spying for Pakistan. “These ex-servicemen have been contacted by PIOs on the pretext of providing jobs, scholarship, monetary consideration,” Minister of State for Home Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary said.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 3rd, 2016.

COMMENTS (4)

Fahim | 8 years ago | Reply There is no need to talk with india.
NHA | 8 years ago | Reply @Point: Even with F-16s , India will not be to talk sense and be sane. The hysteria is caused by their inability to stomach Pakistan's growing prowess and power and its own diminishing capacity to influence development in the international arena.
VIEW MORE COMMENTS
Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ