On Pathankot attack, Home Minister Rajnath Singh says India 'should wait' for Pakistan to act
Amid uncertainty over talks with Pakistan after India made it clear that it wants action against those behind the Pathankot terror attack, Home Minister Rajnath Singh has indicated that Pakistan should be given more time.
"Since they have given an assurance to the Indian government, we don't have any reason to doubt them, at least for now. So we should wait," Mr Singh told reporters, striking a different note amid strained ties.
Responding to India's demand for action on material that it has furnished as proof that the six terrorists who attacked the Pathankot air base on January 2 were linked to Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad, Islamabad today handed over its "initial findings". Pakistani officials have reportedly said that the phone numbers that India says prove the terrorists called Pakistan before the attack are not registered there.
New Delhi has said that Pakistan must take prompt action against those responsible for the attack in which seven military personnel were martyred.
Rajnath Singh said: "Pakistan has assured us that it will take effective action. I think we should wait."
On Monday, his colleague and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had warned that those "who have harmed us will also feel the pain. The time and place should be of our choosing."
Pakistan had announced that talks between the foreign secretaries of the two countries would be held on January 15 in Islamabad.
Sources say the dialogue is unlikely to go ahead unless Pakistan delivers on a commitment made over the phone by premier Nawaz Sharif to Prime Minister Narendra Modi offering cooperation for the investigation.
The Pathankot attack came just a week after PM Modi made an unscheduled visit to Lahore and met Nawaz Sharif.