Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar’s sudden homily just two days ago on not talking with Pakistan looks rather outdated. Jaishankar had argued that Pakistani action against Pathankot airbase attackers would take precedence over talks. He appeared to be overruling the Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad who had delinked talks from the Pakistani probe into Pathankot. Now the outcome of the US-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue may force India to rethink its position.  Indian strategic analysts were worked up over the US-Pakistan Joint Statement mentioning Kashmir. But they underplayed the prominent place to Pathankot in the joint document and in remarks by Sartaj Aziz and John Kerry.Aziz’s account of the Pakistani probe moved Kerry to “appreciate” Nawaz Sharif’s “stated commitment” to bring the perpetrators of the Pathankot attack to justice. The column ticked, the US moved on to the main purpose of the strategic dialogue — creating the right environment for the ‘Quadrilateral’ of Afghanistan, Pakistan, the US and China to achieve a political settlement with Taliban. India, despite weathering repeated attacks on its Afghan consulates and providing substantial aid, is on the sidelines of the peace process. Aziz painted India as being opposed to the reconciliation process. With so much of global diplomatic capital expended on this, he raised fears of the damage recalcitrant countries can inflict.Not only will Islamabad try to trip India each time it tries to assist in the Afghan peace process, there will be a loss of standing among Central Asian countries, some with backs to the wall against resurgent Islamists could do without a breach within the ranks. Russia and China want rapproachment as they had agreed to admit India and Pakistan in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) provided their bilateral quarrels were compartmentalised. The US instead is keen on India building more intensive ties in eastern Asia. It may turn out to be a useful ploy to insert India vigorously in East Asian geopolitics but for now it is the other flank that craves attention.