The decision to hold foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan on January 15 has been deferred by the government till Thursday after reports of Pakistan initiating action against Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar for his alleged role in the Pathankot attack. However, Swarup said there has been no official confirmation of the “arrest” of Azhar.
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A high-level meeting, attended by army chief Raheel Sharif, was held here to discuss the progress into the Pathankot investigations.
Last week, India put the ball squarely in Pakistan’s court, linking the FS-level talks to Islamabad’s prompt and decisive action in the Pathankot attack for which it has provided actionable intelligence.
In a break from the past, the two governments appeared to have coordinated their strategy with Islamabad not going into a denial mode with regard to involvement of Pakistani elements in the attack and apprehending JeM members. “No meeting has taken place, nor any meeting has been scheduled”, said Swarup.
Foreign Office spokesman Qazi Khalilullah said the FS-level talks tomorrow for which Indian Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar was to travel will not take place as planned.
In 2008, Islamabad turned down New Delhi’s demand it dispatch the head of its intelligence agency to India after Pakistani militants carried out a series of high-profile attacks across Mumbai that left 166 people dead.
In the terror attack on Pathankot Air Force base that began on January 2, six militants were also eliminated in an operation that lasted four days. “Pakistan is on the right path we hope Pakistan will take the right steps”, Swarup said. “The meeting expressed its resolve that Pakistan will not allow its soil to be used for terrorism activities”, it said.
Referring to the incident later, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar at a seminar said “unless pain can be transmitted to them, they will always end up giving pain to us”.
Rajnath Singh said since Pakistan has given the assurance to the Indian government, there should be no reason to not believe them so early.
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Pakistan does not want the foreign secretary-level talks to get derailed as they were expected to pave the way for a comprehensive composite dialogue covering all outstanding disputes, including Kashmir, it added.
