Islamabad: Under pressure from India, Pakistan on Wednesday held 12 Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists, days after the group attacked an Indian Air Force base at Pathankot in Punjab.
The suspects were detained from different cities of southern Punjab, according to the online newspaper, Daily Pakistan.
As per the Pakistani media, the authorities have sealed JeM offices in Bahwalnagar, Bahawalpur, Multan and Muzafargarh cities in anti-terror raids.
Also, the Pakistani government is mulling sending a team to India for cooperation on the issue of Pathakot attack.
Notably, India has linked Islamabad's "prompt and decisive" action to the fate of Foreign Secretary-level talks scheduled on Friday.
Earlier in the day, a high-level meeting chaired by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif reviewed the prevailing security situation. "The meeting noted with satisfaction that as part of Pakistan's commitment to eliminate terrorism from our soil and the expressed national resolve not to allow our territory to be used for acts of terrorism anywhere, considerable progress has been made in the investigations being carried out against terrorist elements reportedly linked to the Pathankot incident."
"Based on the initial investigations in Pakistan, and the information provided, several individuals belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammad, have been apprehended. The offices of the organization are also being traced and sealed. Further investigations are underway," Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's office said in a statement.
Chief of Army Staff General (COAS) Raheel Sharif, DG Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lieutenant General Rizwan Akhtar, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Prime Minister`s National Security Adviser Lieutenant-General (r) Nasir Janjua and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif were told in the meeting that the arrested people could be possible facilitators of Pathankot attackers.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had on Tuesday said there was no reason to distrust Pakistan's assurance of "effective action" against those linked to the terror attack on the IAF base in Pathankot in Punjab.
Singh had said the Pakistan government had assured of swift action on the inputs given by India about the perpetrators of the attack on the Indian Air Force base in the early hours of January 2.
India had said terrorists from Pakistan were responsible for the attack that left seven security personnel dead. All six terrorists were killed in the counter-offensive.
India said it had provided what it called "actionable intelligence" to Islamabad to act against those who plotted the audacious attack.
