Track down Pathankot terror masterminds: Pakistani daily

Islamabad, Jan 6: Pakistan must do all it can to help India track down the terrorists who planned the attack on the IAF base in Pathankot, a leading newspaper said on Wednesday.

"The Pakistan government must do all it can to facilitate the Indian government's hunt for the perpetrators of the attack," The Nation said in an editorial.

"Fortunately, it seems that this is the case after all as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif called (his Indian counterpart Narendra) Modi to express his condolences and offered assistance in anyway required," it added.

Six terrorists believed to be from Pakistan raided the Indian Air Force base at Pathankot in Punjab on Saturday and killed seven security personnel. Security forces killed all six raiders.

On Tuesday, Modi urged Sharif to take action against organisations and individuals linked to the Pathankot attack following leads provided by New Delhi. Sharif promised to do that.

The editorial warned that the Pathankot attack and the 25-hour siege at the Indian consulate at Mazar-e-Sharif in Afghanistan - "where Pakistan has long been accused of using militants to further its strategic depth policy" - could potentially put a dent in the bilateral talk process.

India and Pakistan must accordingly "proceed very cautiously", it said.

The Nation also said: "It is time that both countries turn the guns they have been pointing at each other towards the real enemy and act as one towards bringing stability to South Asia."

IANS