Pakistan announces ‘several’ arrests over attack in India
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Version 0 of 1. ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan on Wednesday announced the arrest of “several individuals” from an outlawed Islamist militant group believed to be linked to a four-day assault on an Indian air base this month that killed seven Indian soldiers. The government announced the arrests in a statement after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif presided over a meeting to discuss security issues. The statement said an investigation into the incident has made “considerable progress,” leading to the arrest of several individuals from the Jaish-e-Muhammad militant group. All six militants who took part in the attack were killed by Indian forces. India has long accused Pakistan of turning a blind eye to Islamist militants who have staged cross-border attacks and battled Indian forces in the disputed Kashmir region. Pakistan was quick to condemn the air base attack, and Sharif spoke to his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, expressing condolences and saying Pakistan would investigate any information that India provides. But the attack raised concerns over peace talks planned for Friday between the two longtime regional rivals. In a separate statement, Sharif’s office said the government has set up a committee “to probe the allegations of alleged involvement of certain individuals” in the incident in India. Also Wednesday, Pakistani media reported that authorities had taken Masood Azhar, the head of Jaish-e-Muhammad, into custody. The government did not confirm or deny the reports about Azhar’s detention. |