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India asks Pak to take visible action on terror
Emphasising on the need for swift progress in the Pathankot terror attack probe, Foreign Secretary S Jaishanker on Tuesday told his Pakistan counterpart Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhary that Islamabad cannot be in denial on the impact of terrorism on the bilateral relationship while asserting that the terrorist groups operating from their soil \'must not be allowed to operate with impunity\'.
​New Delhi: Emphasising on the need for swift progress in the Pathankot terror attack probe, Foreign Secretary S Jaishanker on Tuesday told his Pakistan counterpart Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhary that Islamabad cannot be in denial on the impact of terrorism on the bilateral relationship while asserting that the terrorist groups operating from their soil 'must not be allowed to operate with impunity'.
Describing the meeting between the two Foreign Secretaries as 'frank and constructive', Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson Vikas Swarup said the issue of listing Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar under the UN Security Council committee established under resolution 1267 was also brought up during the meeting.
The foreign secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan on the sidelines of the 'Heart of Asia' meet were expected to take a step forward towards the initiation of a comprehensive dialogue between the two neighbouring countries.
It would have given an idea as to when would the next meet be – either ministerial or official, when would Pakistan allow the NIA to visit there to take the Pathankot investigations further, or when would Pakistan make any move against Maulana Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed. But, none of this happened.
From the statements issued by the Indian and Pakistani sides, it appears that the two sides were almost in an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation mode, albeit with all the niceties of diplomatic protocol intact. Both sides stated their positions, saying that the meet was just a direct, one-to-one official meeting.
No forward movement, not even a date or a tentative time frame as to when they would confront each other next was stated.
Swarup said that Jaishankar also brought up the issue of India seeking consular access to former naval officer Kulbhushan Yadav, presently in a Pakistani prison on allegations of being a RAW operative.
"We pressed for immediate consular access of Kulbhushan Yadav, the former Naval officer, abducted and taken to Pakistan.
The discussion also covered humanitarian issues, including those pertaining to fishermen and prisoners, people-to-people contact including religious tourism. The two FSs exchanged ideas on taking the relationship forward and agreed to remain in touch," he said.
The two Foreign Secretaries are also believed to have deliberated on ways to take forward the Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue (CBD) between both sides.
During the meeting, the Pakistan Foreign Secretary emphasized that Kashmir remains the core issue that requires a just solution, in accordance with UNSC resolutions and wishes of the Kashmiri people.
It was the first such formal meeting between the two top diplomats after the talks were deferred in January following the strike by Pakistani terrorists at the Pathankot Airbase.
