Doval to discuss attack with Pak NSA

The terror attack on the Indian Air Force base at Pathankot in Punjab will figure in the next meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his Pakistani counterpart Naseer Khan Janjua.

Doval will share with Janjua findings about role of “state or non-state actors” of the neighbouring country in the terrorist attack, which was apparently intended to derail the peace process initiated by Modi and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, officials told Deccan Herald on Saturday. 

New Delhi and Islamabad already agreed that the National Security Advisors of the two Prime Ministers would continue to discuss “all issues connected to terrorism”, even after the resumption of the Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue.

Doval and Janjua had their first meeting in Bangkok on December 6. They were also joined by Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and his Pakistani counterpart A A Chaudhry. The discussion covered “peace and security, terrorism, Jammu and Kashmir, and other issues, including tranquility along the Line of Control.”

Officials in New Delhi said that while Jaishankar would meet Chaudhry in Islamabad on January 15 to discuss modalities and schedule of the meetings between top officials of the two nations under the Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue, Doval would also have a second meeting with Janjua to discuss issues related to terrorism, possibly later this month or early next month. Doval is likely to share with Janjua the intercepts of the communications between the terrorists, who carried out the attack on the IAF base in Pathankot, and their handlers based in Pakistan. He will also share with his counterpart any other information and evidence which the probe agencies might find about the extent of the role of any “state or non-state actors” of Pakistan, officials said on Saturday.