Foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan put off

Pakistan foreign ministry declines to confirm JeM’s chief

GN Staff | January 14, 2016


#pakistan   #jaish   #azar   #terrorist   #pathankot  

Pakistan has blinked first and on Thursday it was in touch with India to reschedule the foreign secretary-level talks slated in Islamabad tomorrow (January 15). This came after a Pakistani foreign ministry spokesperson said he wasn’t aware of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar's arrest, as reported in the media.

Foreign secretary S Jaishankar and his Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Ahmed Chowdhury hit a road block  after India sought “prompt and decisive action” by Pakistan based on “actionable intelligence” and evidence gathered in the air base that the JeM as involved.

Not confirming Azhar's detention, Pakistan foreign affairs ministry spokesperson Khalilullah Qazi said, "I am not aware of such arrests. Mutual consultations are on about rescheduling the talks. We have said it often that terrorism is common enemy for all. We have to work together to end it."

On Wednesday, India had deferred a decision on whether to go ahead with the Foreign Secretary-level talks with Pakistan and wanted to take it after NSA Ajit Doval's return from Paris.

Mohammad Zubair, a minister in the Nawaz Sharif government in Pakistan, told an Indian TV channel that he cannot confirm the arrest of Azhar while Lt General (Retired) Abdul Qadir Baloch, minister for frontier regions, said that "Azhar was arrested". Azhar's brother Abdul Rehman Rauf has also been detained, Geo TV said. However, late in the night external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said India has received no confirmation of the detention of Azhar.

It came just a week after prime minister Narendra Modi’s surprise stopover in Pakistan on premier Nawaz Sharif’s birthday, hailed as a diplomatic coup that displayed New Delhi’s political intent to meaningfully engage with its neighbour.

Earlier on December 9, Sushma Swaraj became the first Indian foreign minister to visit Pakistan since 2012. She met prime minister Sharif on the sidelines of a conference on Afghanistan, the third bilateral engagement at the top level in less than 10 days after an impromptu and brief meeting between Modi and his Pakistani counterpart in Paris on November 30.

Comments

 

Other News

India`s AI future hinges on high-quality, clean data

For nearly a decade, countries have been adopting artificial intelligence, machine learning and large language models on a large scale, showcasing their efficiency in managing complex tasks and significantly boosting productivity across corporate and government sectors. The Indian government is also positi

Urbanisation away from metros: An idea whose time has come

The news of deteriorating infrastructure in the metro cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai is constantly in the newspapers. Even cities like Pune in their quest to become metros are facing issues like shortage of water supply, floods during the rains, massive traffic jams etc. due to poor and under

‘Open When…’ is truly a companion for life’s twists and turns

Open When… By Dr. Julie Smith PenguinRadomHouse, 402 pages, Rs 899 There are times

Understanding Bharat’s history from its own perspective

Eminent Distorians: Twists and Truths in Bharat`s History By Utpal Kumar BluOne Ink, 334 pages

‘MAGA’ + ‘MIGA’ = ‘MEGA’ partnership for prosperity: Modi

Prime minister Narendra Modi has linked the dream of a Viksit Bharat with US president Donald Trump’s slogan, ‘Make America Great Again’, or ‘MAGA’, saying that when these two democracies work together, i.e. ‘MAGA’ plus ‘Make India Great Again’ (‘

ONOE: Anti-federalism or pro-reform?

The government`s move to implement ‘One Nation, One Election’ (ONOE) has ignited widespread debate. On one hand, it offers tangible benefits, such as removing the possibility of a governance paralysis and reducing election costs. On the other hand, the opposition and sections of civil society s

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now



Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter