Foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan still on, says India’s envoy in Islamabad
Gautam Bambawale said the two countries were in constant touch to reschedule the meet, and the Pathankot attacks will not affect proceedings.
The foreign secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan have not been cancelled since the Pathankot attacks, the Indian ambassador to the country said on Monday. According to Times of India, Gautam Bambawale made these remarks while speaking at an event in Lahore. According to Bambawale, both countries are in touch to finalise dates for the talks, which have been repeatedly postponed since the beginning of the year. They were originally scheduled to be held on January 15.
Relations between the two countries have been strained since the attacks in Pathankot last month, which India blames on Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad. Pakistan has rejected India’s claims that JeM chief Masoor Azhar was behind the attacks, though it had earlier said it would cooperate fully in the investigations. Tensions further escalated last week after 2008 Mumbai terror attacks approver David Headley claimed in court that Pakistan’s spy agency Inter Services Intelligence trains JeM and the Lashkar-e-Taiba. Last year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had paid a surprise visit to his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in a move that many believed suggested a thawing of tensions.