NEW DELHI: As India struggled to make sense of the Pathankot intelligence fiasco on Thursday, the foreign ministry told Pakistan that proposed talks between the foreign secretaries of the two countries await Islamabad’s response to key information New Delhi has provided.

“The ball is in Pakistan’s court. The immediate issue is Pakistan’s response to the Pathankot attack and actionable intelligence provided to it,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said at a news conference.

“Cross-border terrorism is again in focus after the terrorist attack on the Pathankot air force base,” he said, adding that India was not derailing the dialogue.

Mr Swarup said Pakistan had assured India of prompt action against those involved or responsible for the attack and India is waiting for its action against the terrorists.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif, who assured of prompt response,” he said. “We now await prompt and decisive action from the Pakistan prime minister.”

Seven security personnel were killed in the attack early Saturday morning on the Pathankot Air Force Station by six terrorists who are suspected of crossing over from Pakistan. All six were killed by security forces later.

“Government’s stand is very clear,” Mr Swarup said. “It wants healthy relations with all its neighbours including Pakistan. However, the Pathankot attack has once again put renewed focus on challenge of cross-border terrorism.”

Local reports have spoken of a range of scenarios and possibilities that enabled a handful of men to mount a precision-like attack, considered widely to be a major intelligence failure.

The conspiracy behind the assault on the air base was hatched in ‘Markaj’ in Pakistan, according to one Indian report, which quoted unnamed high-level official sources.

They said Indian intelligence agencies had identified the mastermind who was controlling Asfaq Ahmed, Hafiz Abdul Shakur, Kashim Jan and Masood Azhar, as the perpetrators of the Pathankot attack.

According to this version, Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval has spoken to his Pakistani counterpart Nasir Khan Janjua and conveyed New Delhi’s sentiment that action should be taken against the perpetrators.

A Punjab police SP who was apparently waylaid by the gunmen more than a day before the attack was staged had claimed reporting the incident to his superiors who didn’t pay heed for far too long. He is being grilled by the NIA, the main investigating agency, as a potential suspect in the logistics that went into the attack.

Kashmir’s United Jihad Council has claimed responsibility and Indians are also pointing the finger at Jaish-e-Mohammed.

“As you would recall, the decision to commence a comprehensive bilateral dialogue with Pakistan, followed the constructive meeting of the National Security Advisers in Bangkok in which the central concerns of terrorism, peace and security, and tranquilly along the Line of Control (LoC) were discussed,” Mr Swarup said. All that still remains on the agenda.

Published in Dawn, January 8th, 2016