Islamabad assures India of support in identifying culprits.
By Dileep Thekkethil
As Indian military forces claimed that all six terrorists who attacked the Pathankot Airbase in Punjab has been eliminated after a fierce battle that started on Saturday, the US has asked Pakistan to take stringent actions against the perpetrators of the terror act, which has left seven Indian Army personnel dead and 20 others injured.
Earlier during the day, Islamabad had said that the country is committed to bringing the masterminds behind the attack to justice and also said that it is working on the leads provided by India.
US State Department spokesman John Kirby said on Monday, “The government of Pakistan has spoken very powerfully to this and it’s certainly our expectation that they’ll treat this exactly the way they’ve said they would.”
While condemning the terrorist attack on Indian soil, the US also reiterated that cracking down terrorism is a “shared challenge” in south Asia and in order to sweep away the menace caused by terrorism, it is imperative that all countries come in unison to disrupt the functioning of all terrorist networks regardless to whether they are good or bad.
The US spokesperson also asked Pakistan to bring justice to the perpetrators of the Pathankot terrorist attack.
“We urge all the countries in the region to work together to disrupt and dismantle terrorist networks and to bring justice to the perpetrators of this particular attack. I would note that the government of Pakistan, also publicly and privately condemned this recent attack on the Indian air base. We have been clear with the highest levels of the government of Pakistan that it must continue to target all militant groups,” Kirby said.
He also said that Pakistan has publically announced that it will show no discrimination among the terrorist outfits as part of its counter terrorism operation.
Kirby, who staunchly condemned the terrorist attack in Pathankot Air Force base in Punjab, also added that “So this is a shared challenge that we all face in the region and we in the United States want everybody to treat it as a shared challenge. We extend our condolences to all the victims and their families,” he said.
The US spokesperson also said that America is well aware about the safe havens created by the terrorists in some parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan and is constantly in talks with the authorities in those countries to put an end to such safe chasms where terrorists are trained and operations are planned.
“We’re mindful that there remain some safe havens that we obviously want to see cleared out. And we continue to engage with the government of Pakistan to that end. And again, I would point you back to what the government of Pakistan itself has said and acknowledged that it’s not going to discriminate among terrorist groups and it will continue to take the fight,” Kirby said.
“What we want and what we continue to say we want and will continue to work for is increased cooperation, communication, coordination, increased information-sharing and increased efforts against what we all believe is a shared challenge in the region.
“We want to see the government of Pakistan continue to press the fight against terrorists, all terrorists, and to meet their own expectations that they’re not going to discriminate among groups. They’ve said themselves and our expectation is that they’ll live up to that pledge,” he said.
“We recognise there’s more everybody can do, not just Pakistan but every nation can do because it is a shared challenge and it’s a challenge, as you well know, that doesn’t necessarily observe borders and boundaries. So it’s something that everybody can attack more,” Kirby said.
He said that the normalization of the relationship between India and Pakistan is vital for security and economic progress of both the countries.Â
“As we’ve said before, this is an issue that, as are so many issues between India and Pakistan and we want to see them work out bilaterally,” Kirby said.
“We strongly encourage the governments of both India and Pakistan to remain steadfast in their commitment to a more secure and prosperous future for both our countries and for their region,” Kirby added.
The spokesperson of the Pakistan’s ministry of foreign affairs had earlier condemned the attack saying, “In line with Pakistan’s commitment to effectively counter and eradicate terrorism, the Government is in touch with the Indian government and is working on the leads provided by it.”