Secretary-level talks must not be cancelled: R.K. Singh

Former home secretary and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP R.K. Singh on Thursday said foreign secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan must not be cancelled if the reported detention of Jaish-e-Muhammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar in connection with the Pathankot terror attack is true.

"Till then it is not clear that the Pakistan army is not considering itself in normalizing relations with India these question will keep raising. Till then army is not taken in confidence, there will be no solution and these things will keep happening. If the civilian government is putting so much effort and if the detention is true then I think the talks should take place. It would not be good if the talks are cancelled," Singh told ANI here

"There is no truth about his arrest as there is no official statement on this. It is just a media report. But the primary indication suggests that Pakistan's civilian government is serious in pursuing this. The military and ISI are not subordinate to the civilian government there. If ISI and Pakistan Military is involved in the Pathankot attacks, I don't think real perpetrators will be punished," he added

While responding to the reported detention of Jaish-e-Muhammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar in connection with the Pathankot terror attack, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) late on Wednesday evening said there was no official confirmation from Islamabad in this regard.

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"We have no official confirmation on the arrest of JeM chief Masood Azhar. We have seen the press release that has been put out by the Pakistani side, but we have no official confirmation on the arrest," said MEA official spokesperson Vikas Swarup.