Pakistan Foreign Secretary-Level Talks Delayed

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.

Government has said it is clamping down on Azhar’s group while it investigates Indian assertions that the January 2 attack on the Pathankot air base was the work of the Pakistan-based militants. “We look forward to the visit of the Pakistani SIT…and our agencies will extend all necessary cooperation to bring the perpetrators of the attack to justice”, he said.

Meanwhile, Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Qazi Khalilullah said in Islamabad that Pakistan was in contact with India to determine the date for foreign secretaries’ talks.

The law minister said several other offices and seminaries run by Jaish-e-Mohammad had also been raided and shut down, with many of its staff arrested. There is speculation now that the NSAs of the two countries may meet before the FS-level talks.

The comments came a day after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif constituted a committee to probe into the allegations of the alleged involvement of certain individuals in Pathankot incident in India, an official announcement has said.

A Pakistan foreign office yesterday said that it was not aware about detention of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief, the suspected mastermind.

Pakistan also did not confirm the arrest of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar, media reports over which India has some reservations.

On Thursday, commenting on this, the Indian spokesman remarked, “Action taken against Jaish-e-Muhammad is an important and positive first step”.

News of the arrests comes 48 hours before a rare meeting of foreign secretaries of the nuclear-armed rivals is tentatively scheduled to take place. “Pakistan is taking steps in the right direction and we wholeheartedly welcome it”, he said.

India has given to Pakistan information on certain mobile numbers which were used by the handlers of the six terrorists who stormed the sensitive air base in Punjab. “We have given actionable intelligence to Pakistan regarding all people associated with the Pathankot attack”, stated the spokesperson. But Indian government gave a a very meticulous reply, saying “no official reports” from Pakistan. The TV channel, quoting sources in Counter Terrorism Department of Punjab said that theSeminary had been sealed for further operation.