Fix an early date for FS-level talks: Pakistan

Pakistan today called for fixing an early date for the Indo-Pak Foreign Secretary-level talks that has been postponed following the Pathankot terror attack.
Foreign Office Spokesperson Muhammad Nafees Zakaria said both sides are in contact on the issue, but no date has yet been fixed.
The talks should now be finalised as early as possible, he said at his weekly briefing.
India has cancelled the Foreign Secretary-level talks, scheduled for January 15 in New Delhi, following the Pathankot terror attack.
India blames Pakistan-based Jiash-e-Mohammed (JeM) for the January 2 attack in which seven security personnel were killed.
Commenting on the controversy surrounding Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi, he said, "The Kashmiri people have never accepted the unfair trial of Afzal Guru."

Afzal Guru was convicted for the 2001 Parliament attack in which nine security personnel were killed. He was hanged in February 2013.

(Reopens FGN 24)
Meanwhile, Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Sanaullah Zehri today dismissed Modi's assertion that people of Balochistan had thanked him.
Zehri, who belongs to ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, while addressing a gathering in provincial capital Quetta, said, "We condemn Narendra Modi's statement on Balochistan. No one in Balochistan supported his statement."
Zehri said there was no comparison between the "struggle for liberation" in Kashmir and the Balochistan insurgency.
Zehri accused India of supporting militancy in Balochistan and said already the network of "Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav" has been smashed.

"The Indian government fully supports the ongoing insurgency in Balochistan," Zehri alleged.
Zehri's remarks come days after a video showing exiled Baloch leader Brahamdagh Bugti appreciating Modi's speech.
Zehri alleged that "India-sponsored" Brahamdagh Bugti and others were committing terror acts in the province.
"My claims were proven when Brahamdagh Bugti praised Modi. I don't think Brahamdagh should have done that," Zehri said.
"Our so-called nationalists who say they want independence for Balochistan -- do you want independence only to become slaves to Hindus?" he asked.
Zehri challenged Bugti to bring 50 people on streets in support of his campaign.
"Balochistan is part of Pakistan and is run by a democratically elected government," the PML-N lawmaker said.

"The Pakistan Army is ours and we will not tolerate any Indian interference in our internal matters. Our fathers and forefathers made the choice to become part of this Islamic Republic of Pakistan," he said.
Meanwhile, Dawn News, in an editorial, said Prime Minister Modi's remarks on Independence Day have not helped matters on the bilateral front, or in addressing the unrest in Kashmir.
"Hence, in the midst of all this, Pakistan's call for dialogue makes eminent sense -- in fact, this can be an opportunity to revive the Pak-India dialogue process," it said.