India-Pak foreign secys agree to keep talks alive

Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar today met his Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry for nearly 90 minutes

India on Tuesday told Islamabad that its former Naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav was “abducted” by Pakistani agencies and sought immediate consular access to him, while the Pakistani side claimed the “capturing” of Jadhav was evidence of the involvement of Indian agencies in subversive activities in Balochistan and Karachi.

Both, however, stressed the need to keep alive the renewed bilateral dialogue.

Foreign Secretary of India S Jaishankar on Tuesday met his Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry for about 90 minutes on the sidelines of the ‘Heart of Asia’ conference to discuss bilateral issues. The two sides stuck to their known stands on issues from Kashmir, terrorism, the 26/11 terror attack trial, probes into the Pathankot terror attack and Samjhauta Express bomb blast.

For the first time, India said Jadhav was “abducted”. India has maintained that Jadhav was in Iran and denies that he worked for its intelligence agencies. In its statement, Pakistan expressed serious concern over the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW)'s alleged involvement in subversive activities in Balochistan and Karachi. India denies the charge.

Jaishankar “emphasised the need for early and visible progress on the Pathankot terrorist attack investigation as well as the Mumbai case trial in Pakistan. He also brought up the listing of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) leader Masood Azhar in the UN 1267 Sanctions Committee.” The Indian Foreign Secretary told Chaudhry that Pakistan cannot be in denial of the impact of terrorism on the bilateral relationship.

“Terrorist groups based in Pakistan targeting India must not be allowed to operate with impunity,” a statement by the external affairs ministry (MEA) said after the talks.

Chaudhry brought up Kashmir, terming it the “core issue that requires a just solution in accordance with UNSC resolutions and wishes of Kashmiri people.” Interestingly, the Pakistani side released the talking points while the meeting between the two foreign secretaries was still on.

On the Samjhauta Express blast, Chaudhry conveyed concerns “over efforts by Indian authorities for the release of the prime suspects.”

"The Foreign Secretary further pointed out that, despite repeated requests India has not shared investigation reports in which 42 Pakistanis had lost their lives."

The two Foreign Secretaries agreed to remain in touch, the MEA said. This was the first time the two were meeting after the announcement of the resumed comprehensive bilateral dialogue in December. Jaishankar was scheduled to travel to Islamabad to hold talks with Chaudhary on January 15 but both the countries had announced deferment of the talks with "mutual consent" in the wake of the Pathankot attack.

Jaishankar also met Deputy Foreign Minister of Afghanistan Hekmat Karzai, in Delhi to attend the ‘Heart of Asia’ conference, to review progress on Chabahar port project in Iran.