Uncertainty over next week's FS-level talks

NEW DELHI: An element of uncertainty today prevailed over next week's Foreign Secretary-level talks with Pakistan amid indications that these may be deferred in the wake of the terror strike at the Pathankot air base.

A clear indication that the government was "mulling options" came from Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who said, after a meeting of National Security Council chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, that India would take a view on the talks after the operation in Pathankot was over.

Given the anger in India over the terror strike which appeared to have originated from Pakistan, the view here is that the situation here needs to be reassessed before Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar travels to Islamabad which he was scheduled to do on January 14.

It is possible that the National Security Advisors of the two countries who have been tasked with focusing on issue of terrorism, may meet urgently to discuss the aftermath of the Pathankot attack as also the strike on Indian Consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif in Afghanistan. The talks between Foreign Secretaries may follow.

Jaishankar is scheduled to hold discussions with his Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry to chalk out a roadmap to carry forward the engagement under the newly- announced "Bilateral Comprehensive Dialogue".

However, official sources today said the government was "mulling options" with regard to the Islamabad meeting.

When asked about the impact of the terror attack on the January 15 Indo-Pak talks, Jaitley said, "I think let the operations get over and it is only then government takes a view on such matters."

In a pre-dawn attack, a group of heavily-armed terrorists, suspected to be belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammed group, attacked the Air Force base in Pathankot on January 2.

The process of resumption of talks was set in motion after a meeting between Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan in Paris on November 30 on the sidelines of Climate Change Conference.

The meet was followed by the NSAs of India and Pakistan meeting in Bangkok a week later following which the External Affairs Minister visited Pakistan to attend Heart of Asia Conference during which the two sides announced the resumption of talks under "Bilateral Comprehensive Dialogue" process.

In a surprise move, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also visited Lahore on December 25 to greet his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on his birthday.

The two foreign secretaries are scheduled to discuss modalities and other schedule-related aspects to carry forward the dialogue process.