India to talk to Pakistan only after it acts on Pathankot: NSA Ajit Doval

NEW DELHI: The foreign secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan won't happen if Pakistan does not act against the Pathankot attack masterminds, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval said on Monday.

In an interview with NDTV, Doval said that India "will talk only if Pakistan takes action". The secretary-level talks between the two countries were scheduled for January 15.

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Last week, following the Pathankot attack, India had categorically said that "the ball was in Pakistan's court on the continuation of the resumed bilateral talks" following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's unscheduled stopover on December 25 at Lahore to meet his counterpart, Nawaz Sharif.

"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 had said.

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

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