Plain speaking as 2 foreign secys meet for first time after Pathankot; Pak harps on Kashmir as core issue.
Plain speaking as 2 foreign secys meet for first time after Pathankot; Pak harps on Kashmir as core issue.
As India’s foreign secretary S. Jaishankar met Pakistan’s Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry here Tuesday, India firmly asked Pakistan not to be in denial over the impact of terrorism on bilateral ties while Pakistan kept harping on Kashmir, terming it as the “core issue” between the two countries.
The meeting between the two foreign secretaries went on for nearly 90 minutes, when several issues, including the probe into the Pathankot terror attack, the 26/11 trial and the Samjhauta Express blast investigations were raised.
Tuesday’s meeting was the first formal interaction of the two foreign secretaries since their scheduled talks were put on hold in the wake of the Pathankot attack in January. Mr Chaudhry was in New Delhi primarily to attend the “Heart of Asia” conference on the future of Afghanistan.
At the meeting, India raised the issue of the “abduction” of former naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, saying he had been forcibly taken to Pakistan, and sought immediate consular access. This is the first time India has clearly said that Mr Jadhav was abducted.
However, in a statement, Pakistan said it had raised the “capturing” of Mr Jadhav and expressed serious concern over RAW’s alleged involvement in subversive activities in Balochistan and Karachi, a charge which was srongly rebutted by India.
“India’s foreign secretary emphasised the need for early and visible progress on the Pathankot terrorist attack investigation as well as the Mumbai case trial in Pakistan. He also brought up the listing of JeM leader Masood Azhar in the UN 1267 Sanctions Committee,” an external affairs ministry statement said.
“Foreign secretary Jaishankar clearly conveyed that Pakistan cannot be in denial on the impact of terrorism on the bilateral relationship. Terrorist groups based in Pakistan targeting India must not be allowed to operate with impunity,” it added.
However, the Pakistani statement emphasised the importance of Kashmir and said the matter was raised by Mr Chaudhry. The statement added that it remained the “core issue that requires a just solution in accordance with UNSC resolutions and wishes of the Kashmiri people”.
Interestingly, the Pakistani side released the talking points while the meeting between the two foreign secretaries was still on. The statement by Pakistan also said: “In line with our PM’s vision of peaceful neighborhood, FS underscored Pakistan’s commitment to have friendly relations with all its neighbors/India. All outstanding issues, including the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, were discussed.” Describing the discussions as “frank and constructive”, India said humanitarian issues, including those pertaining to fishermen and prisoners, and people to people contacts, including religious tourism, were also taken up.
“The two foreign secretaries exchanged ideas on taking the relationship forward and agreed to remain in touch,” the MEA said. The Pakistan high commission said that Mr Chaudhry also expressed serious concern over RAW’s alleged involvement in subversive activities in Balochistan and Karachi. These allegations were firmly rebutted by Mr Jaishankar.
In the context of Mr Jadhav, the Indian foreign secretary also asked which spy agency would put their agent in the field with their own passport, and without a visa. On the Samjhauta Express blast, Mr Chaudhry voiced concern “over efforts by the Indian authorities for the release of the prime suspects of the Samjhauta Express blasts”.
The Pakistan high commission statement said Mr Chaudhry had expressed confidence that building on the goodwill generated by recent high-level contacts, the two countries should remain committed to a sustained, meaningful and comprehensive dialogue process. In this spirit, the foreign secretary underscored the need for early commencement of the comprehensive dialogue, for which the Indian foreign secretary’s visit to Pakistan is due, it added.
