The foreign secretary-level talks between Pakistan and India could be deferred by New Delhi for a few weeks in the wake of the Pathankot airbase attack of early this month that killed seven Indian personnel including one Indian Army colonel.
Advertisement
Recently, Pakistan Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said that the schedule talks between foreign secretaries of Pakistan and India is still intact.
Putting the ball squarely in Pakistan’s court, India has linked the Foreign Secretary-level talks to Islamabad’s “prompt and decisive” action on the Pathankot terror attack for which it has provided “actionable intelligence”.
“I speak to journalists every day”. Doval was quoted saying in the interview.
Talking to an Indian TV channel via telephone, Doval said that he never said anything like this in interview with the newspaper.
“I do not remember giving any such interview”, he told ANI. Until Pakistan takes action on the perpetrators of Pathankot [airbase attack] and India is not satisfied, there will be no peace talks.
Uncertainty prevails on talks scheduled for January 15 in Islamabad between Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and his Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry following the terror strike on the Pathankot air base which originated from Pakistan.
He said India has neither confirmed nor cancelled the scheduled meeting so far. Sources say the dialogue is unlikely to go ahead unless Pakistan delivers on a commitment made over the phone by premier Nawaz Sharif to Prime Minister Narendra Modi offering cooperation for the investigation.
Advertisement
Some analysts have suggested the two attacks may have been coordinated by elements within Pakistan’s powerful military, who see eternal conflict with India as their raison d’etre.
