In New Delhi, the Indian Spokesman Vikas Swarup said, “the two foreign secretaries have spoken and they have mutually chose to reschedule the talks”.
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Pakistan Prime Minister’s Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said Pakistan and India are working on finalising new dates soon for the Foreign Secretary-level talks.
The two Foreign Secretaries have spoken and agreed to reschedule talks that had been tentatively set for tomorrow, the government says.
Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar who was taken into custody by authorities yesterday has hit out at Pakistan for his detention.
In a pre-dawn terror strike on January 2, a group of heavily-armed Pakistani terrorists, suspected to be belonging to the JeM, attacked the IAF base at Pathankot in Punjab and killed seven security personnel.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs was not immediately available for comment but said earlier it would decide late on Wednesday whether Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar would travel to Islamabad on Friday.
He reiterated that India does not have any information about the release of JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar.
Prime Minster Narendra Modi told his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on the phone last week that swift and decisive action is expected.
The MEA spokesperson, however, maintained that there is no information regarding the arrest of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar. “We look forward to the visit of the Pakistani SIT and our investigative agencies will extend all necessary cooperation to bring the perpetrators of the attack to justice”, Sawrup said.
“We have given proofs to Pakistan regarding Pathankot attack and will give more if demanded”, he said.
However, it could not be officially confirmed as Foreign Office spokesperson Qazi Khalilullah could not be reached for his comments.
Since Wednesday evening, Pakistani media reported that Azhar had been detained two days ago along with top relatives.
Meanwhile, both Khalilullah and Swarup hinted that their national security advisers (NSAs) may meet before the FS-level talks.
The Foreign Office spokesman also condemned the explosions in Indonesia and said Pakistan opposes every kind of terrorism.
By all accounts the reports appeared to be untrue but India has not linked the talks to his detention.
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“Therefore, we should wait for the response from the government”, he added.
