Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup on Thursday talking to media said, “Talks between India and Pakistan foreign secretaries have been rescheduled with the mutual consent of both countries”. We note the apprehension of Jaish-e-Mohammad members, ” he added.
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India and Pakistan have fought three wars, two of them over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.
Islamabad-Pakistan and India, through consultation have chose to reschedule Foreign Secretary-level talks to “some time in near future”.
India has also said it supports Pakistan’s decision to send investigators to India as part of the probe to collect important evidence about the Pathankot attack in which seven military personnel were martyred and 22 were injured. “We appreciate the step taken by the Pakistani government against Jaish-e-Muhammad workers and Masood Azhar”, he said.
In a shocking revelation, Pakistan’s Punjab province Law Minister claimed that Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) supremo Maulana Masood Azhar was under “protective custody”.
Indian officials have termed Pakistan’s steps against terrorism “commendable” and said they would welcome investigation team.
Earlier today, the Pakistani Foreign Office announced that talks between the foreign secretaries will not take place on January 15 (Friday) as earlier scheduled.
The PMO statement further elaborated that Jaish-i-Mohammad offices in the country were being traced and sealed.
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On Thursday, Pakistan detained “several individuals” of the JeM apart from sealing some of their offices in an apparent attempt to get the talks going. Even as the Modi government publicly stated that it was satisfied with the investigations and actions against the JeM and would welcome the Pakistani probe team here, it was made a decision to reschedule the talks in the light of ongoing probe. After the Pathankot attack, New Delhi had told Pakistan that the Foreign Secretaries talks would depend on the action taken by it to bring the culprits to book. The top political leaderships of the two countries believe that the answer to Pathankot does not lie in breaking off talks, but in punishing the perpetrators promptly.
