Pakistan should fight terrorism menace: BJP

After Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit said that the bilateral peace process remains suspended as New Delhi does not want comprehensive talks, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday said India has given a fair chance to Pakistan by extending all cooperation, and so, it should fight the menace of terrorism.

"I think it's a very golden opportunity for Pakistan to make peace with neighbours, particularly India and fight menace of terrorism. Instead of making peace with their terrorist organisations, they should take concrete steps and put behind the bars Masood Azhar and those who are responsible for the Pathankot attack," BJP leader Zafar Islam told ANI.

"Pakistan is always seen by the global community that they go very soft on terrorism. India has given a fair chance to Pakistan by extending all cooperation to fight the menace of terrorism. It is for Pakistan to come clean. The conflicting statement by the Pakistan High Commission to India and their Foreign Secretary in Pakistan creates lots of confusion in the minds of India as well as the global community," he added.

Basit had earlier said that Pakistan wants peaceful relations with India but India is not cooperating on any level.

Hinting that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) will not be given access to Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar for the probe into the Pathankot attack, Basit said the dialogue with India is suspended as there are no plans for the foreign secretaries to meet.

Basit created a stir by stating that Pakistan's Joint Investigation Team's (JIT) visit to India to probe the Pathankot terror attack was not based on reciprocity - the complete opposite of what the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

MEA official spokesperson Vikas Swarup said, "We have seen comments by the Pakistani High Commissioner on the visit of the JIT team to investigate the terrorist attack on the Pathankot Air Base that have reference to reciprocity. The MEA would like to clarify that on 26 March, 2016, before the visit of the JIT, the Indian High Commission formally conveyed to the Pakistani Foreign Ministry that the Terms of Reference 'are broadly agreed to with the proviso that these would be on the basis of reciprocity and followed in accordance with extant legal provisions.