FO confirms Pak-India Foreign Secretary-level talks deferred

India on Wednesday deferred the decision to hold foreign secretary level talks with Pakistan till the return of its national secretary advisor Ajit Doval from France, Press Trust of India said citing official sources.

An Indian security personnel stands guard on a building at the Indian Air Force (IAF) base at Pathankot in Punjab, India, January 5, 2016.

Prime Minister of Pakistan (PM) Nawaz Sharif on Thursday has strongly condemned the blast near United Nations office in Jakarta, Indonesia.

He said the foreign secretaries of the neighbours spoke on the telephone and chose to defer the talks that had been tentatively scheduled for Friday in Islamabad.

The offices have been sealed in Bahwalnagar, Bahawalpur, Multan and Muzafargarh cities and the suspected members of the group were also held, top officials briefed Sharif.

The meeting was informed that on the basis of the initial investigations in Pakistan, and the information provided, several individuals belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammad, have been apprehended.

Ever since the terror attack on January 2, there have been doubts whether the foreign secretary-level talks could take place as planned with India linking “prompt and decisive” action by Pakistan to the parleys. Further investigations in connection with Pathankot incident is going on. The meeting expressed its resolve that Pakistan will not allow its soil to be used for terrorism activities.

The Wednesday meeting was also attended by, among others, General Raheel Sharif, the army chief, and the head of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar, media reports said.