HOPEFUL Says suspension of talks does not mean cancellation
LONDON: Pakistan is “cooperating closely” with India in the investigation of the attack on Pathankot airbase and hopes that stalled bilateral talks will resume in the next few weeks, foreign policy chief Sartaj Aziz has said.
Aziz, the adviser on foreign affairs to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, told a select audience at the Royal Institute of International Affairs here on Monday evening that “suspension” of talks did not mean cancellation but “temporary suspension”.
“We still hope that as we make progress on the Pathankot investigation, the dialogue can begin because terrorism-related issues are important,” he said while delivering a lecture on the theme ‘A Strategic Vision for Pakistan’s Foreign Policy’.
Pakistan’s regional situation, he said, was “further complicated by India’s attitude. We are not seeing a positive response from India. It is a difficult situation.”
Responding to questions, he said: “We are cooperating closely (on the Pathankot attack). Our team visited Pathankot and Delhi. We are now pursuing those investigations.”
India has blamed the January 2 attack on Pathankot airbase on Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed and demanded action against the banned group’s chief, Masood Azhar. Pakistan has said it needs more evidence to act against the perpetrators. Aziz also brought up the arrest of an alleged Indian intelligence operative by Pakistani authorities.
New Delhi has acknowledged the arrested man, Kulbhushan Jadhav, was a former naval officer but dismissed reports that he was involved in espionage.
Hoping the global community will encourage India to resume dialogue “because without that we cannot deal with the problems that we all face”, Aziz rejected claims that Pakistan is “apologetic” about the arrest of Jadhav.
Reiterating Pakistan’s stance of Jammu and Kashmir being the “core issue” in bilateral ties, Aziz said “no dialogue can start” without talks on its future.
He said a number of formulae had been discussed in the past, but he rejected the idea that the Line of Control be made the border between the two countries.