Pathankot Attack Slowed Down Indo-Pak Talks, Claims Nawaz Sharif

Pathankot attacks derailed peace talks between India and Pakistan, says Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif at a meeting in Lahore. (Photo: PTI)

Pakistan will soon complete its investigation into the Pathankot terror attack which had a negative impact on talks with India, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Saturday.

Talks with India were “going in the right direction” after the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, he said. But Sharif regretted that the attack disturbed the negotiation process.

Sharif vowed that Pakistan would go to any length to uncover the alleged use of its soil in the 2 January attack on the air base in Pathankot by suspected JeM terrorists.

It is our responsibility to uncover if our soil was used in the attack. We will do this and the ongoing investigations will soon be completed.

<b>Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan Prime Minister </b>

The terrorists were being defeated and in desperation, they were carrying out isolated acts to make their presence felt, he said. He also added that the remaining ones will also be eliminated.

The Foreign Secretary talks, initially scheduled for 15-16 January, were later postponed to the “near future”.

Also read: India Has Given Intel to Pak, Now the Ball Is in Their Court: MEA

India has shared actionable evidence with Pakistan and an SIT was sent formed in Pakistan to probe the matter. However, there has been no information regarding the rescheduled date of the FS-level talks.

The Pathankot attack claimed the lives of seven Indian security personnel while six terrorists were killed in the gunbattle that followed the attack.

The Jaish-e-Mohammad, a Pakistan-based terror outfit is believed to be responsible for the attack.

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