Pak says info on plotters may not be enough

Pakistan on Friday reiterated its “commitment to cooperate with” India to “eradicate the menace of terrorism from the region”, but sent out words to New Delhi that information it shared with Islamabad on the plotters of the attack on the Indian Air Force base at Pathankot in Punjab might not be enough.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday reviewed the progress of his government’s actions on the information New Delhi shared with Islamabad on the identity and contact details of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) operatives, who not only planned the terror strike in Pathankot, but were also in touch with terrorists during the attack.

“In line with Pakistan’s commitment to effectively counter and eradicate terrorism, the meeting reviewed the progress made on the information provided by the Government of India. It was decided to remain in touch with the Government of India in this regard,” a statement issued by the Pakistan Prime Minister’s Office in Islamabad stated. The back-to-back attacks on the IAF base in Pathankot and the Consulate General of India at Mazar-e-Sharif in Afghanistan cast a shadow on the proposed meeting between foreign secretaries of the two nations, scheduled to take place in Islamabad on January 15.

Sharif on Tuesday assured Prime Minister Narendra Modi that his government would take “prompt and decisive action” on the information shared by New Delhi. New Delhi put the onus on Islamabad to salvage the peace process, which was recently reinitiated by Modi and Sharif.

“The meeting also discussed the Pathankot incident and expressed Pakistan’s condemnation of the incident and reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to cooperate with India to completely eradicate the menace of terrorism afflicting our region,” the statement issued by Pakistan government added.