Pakistani top militant in gov’t custody over attack in India

India and Pakistan have agreed to reschedule talks between their foreign secretaries, the Indian foreign ministry said on Thursday, while an investigation into a deadly attack on a military base in Pathankot is carried out.

Qazi’s comments come in the wake of Pathankot attack and a simultaneous attack on the Indian consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif in northern Afghanistan just ahead of the foreign secretary-level talks between Indian and Pakistan, scheduled for January 15.

The attack, which killed seven Indian soldiers and all six attackers, sparked concerns it could derail a recently launched peace process to resolve decades-old disputes, including Kashmir.

The Pakistani foreign office said a new date had not yet been decided.

“The confirmation regarding the arrest of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief is yet to be obtained from the Pakistani Government”.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) late on Wednesday evening said there was no official confirmation from Islamabad on the arrest of Masood Azhar. The officials didn’t elaborate and spoke on condition of anonymity because they aren’t authorized to speak to reporters. Rana Sanaullah, the minister for law in the eastern Punjab province, says Azhar is in the custody of the Counter-Terrorism Department but that so far no case against him has been registered, a requirement under Pakistani law that precedes an indictment. India on its part, did not call-off the talks.

Pakistan banned the group in 2002, the year after it was blamed for an attack on the Indian parliament that took the two neighbours to the brink of war.

Swarup welcomed Pakistan’s announcement of the arrest of several people from an outlawed Islamic militant group believed to be linked to the assault.