India keeps window for dialogue open, FS talks in “near future”

Responding to action taken by Pakistan in the wake of Pathankot terror attacks, India has announced that the talks between the foreign secretaries of the two countries has been rescheduled and will be held “in the near future”. In an official statement, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup speaking to the media in New Delhi on January 14 said, “The Foreign Secretary spoke to his Pakistani counterpart and they agreed to reschedule talks in the near future.” The talks were originally scheduled to be held in Islamabad on January 15. Welcoming the action taken by Pakistan on detaining Jaish-e-Mohammed members, Mr Swarup said: “We welcome the positive step by Pakistan in the Pathankot attack probe.” Speaking about the statement released by Pakistan, he emphasised that it conveyed that considerable progress had been made in the investigations  against the perpetrators of the Pathankot attacks. The Pathankot terror attacks  on January 2, killed seven security personnel and injured around 20 people.  “We note the apprehension of Jaish-e-Mohammad members. The action taken against Jaish-e-Mohammad is an important and positive first step,” Mr Swarup added. The decision to reschedule the talks has been made mutually and is not a unilateral decision by India, Mr Swarup said. The National Security Advisors (NSAs) of both countries have been in regular contact over the past few days, Mr Swarup added. Elaborating on the visit of a ‘Special Investigation Team’ from Pakistan, Mr Swarup said: “We look forward to the visit of the Pakistani special investigation team. We will extend it our full cooperation. ”