Sources in Islamabad told dna over phone that the Pakistan PM, who recently hosted his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in Lahore, also handed over the probe and all leads provided by India to Intelligence Bureau (IB) chief Aftab Sultan, who works directly under him, instead of the normal practice of passing them on to the Inter-Services Intelligence Agency (ISI), which works under the army.
Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif, on Friday, met his top brass – the second such meeting in last two days, since his return from Colombo – to discuss the Pathankot incident, and directed his security establishment to cooperate with India in unearthing terror links involved.
Sources in Islamabad told dna over phone that the Pakistan PM, who recently hosted his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in Lahore, also handed over the probe and all leads provided by India to Intelligence Bureau (IB) chief Aftab Sultan, who works directly under him, instead of the normal practice of passing them on to the Inter-Services Intelligence Agency (ISI), which works under the army.
The extra-ordinary step is perceived in diplomatic corridors here as Sharif's desire to salvage the talks with India. Officials in New Delhi, while terming it "a rare, positive encouraging signal... and a deviation from past record of remaining in denial mode", however, said a "credible" step on the actionable intelligence was still awaited.
Stating that this alone will help build trust, "a necessity for kickstarting a genuine dialogue process", an official said: "At the very minimum, we expect the terror handlers to be arrested and those behind the attack tracked down."
According to sources in Pakistan, Sharif has directed NSA Nasser Khan Janjua to remain in contact with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval for gathering additional information. This happened after an official, at the meeting, said that information provided by India was "not enough", as it was so far limited to telephone numbers,
The meeting was attended by chief of army staff General Raheel Sharif, DG ISI Lt-Gen Rizwan Akhtar, interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, advisor to PM on foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz, national security advisor Lt-Gen (retd) Nasser Janjua, finance minister Ishaq Dar, foreign secretary and DG military operations.
During the meeting, Sharif said goodwill generated by the recent high-level contacts should not be allowed to go haywire. He hoped the two countries would remain committed to a sustained, meaningful and comprehensive dialogue process.
"We would like to have solid information to build a case for action. Otherwise, the suspects will walk out free on bail," a Sharif aide told dna. He further said that strong action would be taken if probe finds anyone guilty.
Meanwhile, investigators in Pathankot have found painkillers made in Lahore and syringes made in Karachi in one of the buildings at the airbase where the terrorists were holed up. The terrorists also carried performance-enhancing drugs, bandages, cotton, vials of perfume and dates. "The details will be provided to Pakistan soon," an official told dna.
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