Pakistan foreign secretary talks rescheduled

At a briefing of the ministry of external affairs (MEA), spokesperson Vikas Swarup welcomed the statement the Pak Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued on Wednesday night, and said the talks have been rescheduled by mutual consent. On whether the Pakistani SIT will be given access to the air base, Swarup said the modalities had to be worked out between the investigative agencies of the countries.

He also did not clarify if the Pakistant Government has given any information to India on the action taken on the leads provided by the latter. Meanwhile, Islamabad is said to be planning to set up a team for Pathankot attack’s probe in an attempt to pacify with India.

In a shocking revelation, Pakistan’s Punjab province Law Minister claimed that Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) supremo Maulana Masood Azhar was under “protective custody”.

On Wednesday, Pakistan announced that it has shifted JeM chief Azhar, his brother and other members of the terror outfit to an undisclosed location where the concerned authorities were interrogating them about the armed attack on Pathankot airbase.

Foreign Office spokesman Qazi Khalilullah said Friday’s FS-level talks, for which Indian Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar was to travel, will not take place as planned.

The Indian government further denied media reports that NSA Ajit Doval and his Pakistani counterpart Nasir Janjua have met in a third country.

Pakistan also did not confirm the arrest of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar as reported by media. He added that the decision to reschedule the talks had been made mutually, and was not a unilateral decision by India. India had provided Pakistan with “actionable evidence” and was waiting for Pakistan’s response, Swarup said after the Pathankot attack.

The meeting expressed the confidence on the goodwill generated by the recent high level contacts, the two countries would remain committed to a sustained, meaningful and comprehensive dialogue process. “I don’t have anything else apart from the statement issued by the Prime Minister Office”.

Government officials also said there was no information whether a criminal case was registered against JeM and its members including Masood Azhar.