Indo-Pak Foreign Secretary-level talks may be delayed

Proposed talks between the foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan may be delayed in the wake of little action by Pakistan against terror outfit JeM that was responsible for the Pathankot attack, with New Delhi getting increasingly miffed over the lack of adequate action by Islamabad and wanting concrete action against the terror outfit before talks take place, sources have indicated.

There has been no scheduling so far on the proposed talks that were to have been held in the “very near future”, as decided by both the countries in mid-January this year after the Pathankot terror strike.

Sources said New Delhi was initially enthused about the action that Pakistan seemed to be taking against the JeM in the second week of January after India furnished evidence to Pakistan about the role of the JeM operating from Pakistani soil.

But there is a sinking feeling now in New Delhi that not much seems to have been done by Islamabad against JeM since then. Sources in New Delhi have made it clear that Pakistan needs to take concrete and substantial action against the JeM if the talks process is to move forward. Sources pointed out that India cannot be seen to be ready for talks if there is no action taken by Pakistan even in the face of overwhelming evidence furnished by New Delhi.

Security experts have been maintaining that there is virtually no chance of Pakistan taking action against the JeM and its chief Maulana Masood Azhar since the Pakistan Army is opposed to any such action. It is common knowledge that the Pakistan military establishment has long considered terror outfits such as LeT and JeM as strategic assets nurtured by it against India that can be used from time-to-time. New Delhi is also aware that the civilian political leadership in Pakistan is under tremendous pressure from the military establishment.