Talks with Pak not suspended: MEA

 India on Friday said its dialogue with Pakistan has not been suspended, though the focus is currently on the probe over the Pathankot airbase attacks.

“Obviously, after the Pathankot terror attack, the focus of the conversations was on the investigation of that particular attack,” Vikas Swarup, official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, told journalists in New Delhi. 

Swarup added that other aspect of the relationship has also been discussed. “I have made statements. So is my Pakistani counterpart. This should give you the clarity that the dialogue process has not been suspended,” he said.

His comments came after Pakistani envoy to India Abdul Basit said on April 7 that talks with India have been suspended. New Delhi did not immediately react, but merely pointed out to the statement from the spokesperson of Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mohammed Nafees Zakaria that foreign secretaries of both the countries would meet once modalities are finalised.

A meeting between Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and his Pakistani counterpart AA Chaudhary on January 15 to finalise the schedule of the dialogue had to be deferred indefinitely after the Pathankot attacks which India believes was planned, funded and coordinated by the Jaish-e-Mohammed terror outfit.

The meeting, which would have marked a move towards restarting the stalled dialogue, has not yet been rescheduled.