Simran Sodhi,Tribune News Service,New Delhi, January 7

India today put the ball firmly in Pakistan’s court over the scheduled foreign secretary level talks. India made it clear that talks will go ahead only if Pakistan acts on the “actionable intelligence” provided to it.“The ball is in Pakistan’s court. The immediate issue is Pakistan’s response to the Pathankot attack and actionable intelligence provided to it,” official spokesperson of the ministry of external affairs Vikas Swarup said.India has provided evidence to Pakistan that the terrorists who attacked the Pathankot Air Force base were constantly in touch with their handlers in Pakistan. The evidence provided by India includes intercepts of phone calls made by the terrorists and the location of the numbers they had called in Pakistan. Sources said India had also identified the alleged handlers and demanded that action be taken against the leadership of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) before any talks between the two countries can take place.Swarup said Pakistan had assured India of prompt action against those involved or responsible for the attack. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif, who assured of prompt response,” Swarup said, adding that “we now await prompt and decisive action from the Pakistan Prime Minister”.While there are still eight days to go before the foreign secretary level talks are held in Islamabad, India seems to be weighing on the decision with each passing day. Sources in the government point out that the government would want the dialogue process to continue but some visible action by Pakistan against the perpetrators would have to be there for the process to continue.

India names JeM, its chief for Pathankot attack

• India has held Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar (pic) and the banned outfitresponsible for the Pathankot attack in evidence shared with Pakistan, sources said
• MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup refrained from naming any group, while confirming that “actionableintelligence” had been provided to Pakistan
• In Islamabad, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif onThursday chaired a high-level meeting and directedofficials to speed up work on the leads given by India

Handlers behind Pathankot attack identified

The Indian intelligence agencies have identified four handlers, including the Islamist militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar, who carried out the terror attacks in Pathankot. Ashfaq Ahmed, Haji Abdul Shakur and Kashim Jaan were the other three identified handlers. According to the intelligence sources, the attack was planned in Markaz, Pakistan.

Ball is in Pak’s court: MEA on Pathankot probe

short by Smrithin Satishan / 06:28 pm on 07 Jan 2016,Thursday

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Vikas Swarup on Thursday said Pakistan needs to decide how it acts against the perpetrators of Pathankot terror attack, adding that the “ball is in their court”. Swarup said the government’s stand over the issue is “very clear” and that India wants to have good relations with all its neighbours including Pakistan.