Pathankot attack: India-Pakistan Foreign Secretary-level talks deferred, NSA meet soon

NEW DELHI: India and Pakistan on Thursday announced to reschedule their proposed foreign secretarylevel talks, scheduled in Islamabad on January 15-16, to “very near future”, with investigations into the Pathankot terror attack yet to reach the door step of Jaish chief Maulana Masood Azhar, chief architect of the strike.

Even as the Modi government publicly stated that it was satisfied with the investigations and actions against the JeM and would welcome the Pakistani probe team here, it was decided to reschedule the talks in the light of ongoing probe. The two national security advisors are in regular touch over the probe and cross-border terror. There is anticipation that Ajit Doval and his Pakistani counterpart Naseer Khan Janjua may meet soon to discuss Pathankot.

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Foreign secretary S Jaishankar spoke with his Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhary over telephone on Thursday and decided to postpone their maiden dialogue to finalise modalities for various segments under the Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue, which was launched when external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj visited Islamabad last month. Jaishankar was scheduled to travel to Islamabad to hold talks with Chaudhary on Friday, but both the countries announced deferment of talks with “mutual consent” to “very near future”, MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said. Swarup said India would not go by “empty statements” and will like to see action on the ground.

Asked as to why the talks were deferred when India was welcoming the Pak action against JeM, Swarup said the foreign secretaries felt that some more time was required before they meet “away from the shadow” of the investigations into the terror strike. On whether the Pakistani SIT will be given access to the air base, Swarup said the modalities had to be worked out between the investigative agencies of the countries.

Expressing similar sentiments, Pak foreign office spokesman Qazi Khalilullah said the FS-level talks for which Jaishankar was to travel would not take place as planned. On Azhar’s detention, Khalilullah said: “I am not aware of any such arrest. I don’t have anything else apart from the statement issued by the PMO.”