“Doval asked Janjua to clarify Basit’s statement and apprise govt about NIA’s visit to Pakistan to investigate Pathankot attack”, media reported on Saturday.
Advertisement
Criticising Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit for saying that the bilateral peace process remains suspended as New Delhi does not want comprehensive talks, the Congress on Saturday demanded the former’s repatriation.
Asked about the possibility of meeting between foreign secretaries of the two countries which was suspended following the Pathankot attack in January, Basit said no such meeting has been scheduled.
Ministry of external affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup said that the JIT visit was on a reciprocal basis.
Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit also said that the arrest of an alleged Indian spy, Kulbushan Jadhav, proved Islamabads allegations that New Delhi was causing unrest in Balochistan.
India accuses Pakistan of arming and training insurgents fighting for Kashmir’s independence from India or its merger with Pakistan, a charge Islamabad denies.
He said there is increased understanding at the worldwide level of Pakistan’s genuine concerns regarding rapidly growing Indian conventional and nuclear capabilities and their offensive military designs such as cold start doctrine.
Basit, however, during an interaction in Foreign Correspondents’ Club here, said, “This whole incident in not about raciprocity it is about cooperating with each other and let’s hope that the spirit of cooperation is retained in the days and weeks ahead”, he said. The recent arrest of Kulbhushan Yadav in Pakistan irrefutably corroborates what Pakistan has been saying all along.
“The 19th SAARC Summit will be held in Islamabad in November this year”.
During their visit to India, their hosts provided ample support to the JIT and it was agreed that India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) will visit Pakistan as part of a further probe into the Pathankot terror attack.
“It was agreed much in advance of Pakistan’s JIT’s visit that they would not get access to any Defence personnel involved in the Pathankot operation”, the official said.
And attempts to put it on backburner will be counter-productive, he added.
Advertisement
The UN had banned the JeM in 2001 but India’s efforts for slapping sanctions on Azhar after the 2008 Mumbai terror attack also did not fructify as China, that has veto powers, did not allow it apparently at the behest of Pakistan again.
