Indo-Pak Foreign Secretary-level talks unlikely this week

New Delhi

The Indo-Pak Foreign Secretary- level talks appear to be unlikely this week with India taking the stand that Pakistan has to act on the leads given to it about the terror attack on the Pathankot air base.

Sartaj Aziz, Foreign Policy Adviser to Pakistan Prime Minister, has said that the foreign secretary talks would be held on January 15 but National Security Adviser Ajit Doval was quoted as having said said that talks can be held only after action, a stand from which he has distanced himself later.

Reports from Pakistan today claimed that law enforcement agencies have picked up “some suspects” connected to Pathankot airbase attack from Bahwalapur district, the hometown of Maulana Masood Azhar, chief of banned terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed.

Pakistani news channel ARY News reported today that “some arrests” have been made in this regard but police did not confirm any arrest related to the Pathankot attack. However, there is nothing officially has been said about it.

It is unlikely that Foreign Secretary Jaishankar would travel to Islamabd as planned this Thursday for talks with his Pakistan counterpart for the comprehensive bilateral dialogue agreed to between the two countries when External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj visited Pakistan last month.

Swaraj today went to Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s residence and is understood to have discussed the issue during a meeting that lasted about 20 minutes. But there was no official word on the meeting.

PTI