Pak can’t deny impact of terror on talks, says India
Delhi says former naval officer Jadhav was ‘abducted and taken’ to Pakistan
NEW DELHI: India on Tuesday used its first high-level contact with Pakistan since the January 2 attack on the Pathankot airbase to send out a clear message: Islamabad must crack down on terror groups operating from its soil instead of being in “denial” on terrorism.
During talks with his Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry ahead of a meeting of the Heart of Asia grouping, foreign secretary S Jaishankar also sought “early and visible progress” in Pakistan’s probe into the Pathankot attack and the trial of the alleged perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks.
Bilateral contact between the neighbours were stalled after the Pathankot airbase attack, blamed on the Jaishe-Mohammed (JeM) by India. Seven security personnel were killed in the attack.
Pakistan, Jaishankar said, “cannot be in denial on the impact of terrorism on the bilateral relationship”. A statement from the external affairs ministry quoted him as saying, “Terrorist groups based in Pakistan targeting India must not be allowed to operate with impunity.”
Sources quoted Pakistani officials as saying the joint investigation team that recently visited India to probe the Pathankot attack is finalising its report.
During the 100-minute meeting in his South Block chamber, Jaishankar brought up the listing of JeM leader Masood Azhar under the UN Security Council sanctions committee.
Though JeM is on the sanctions list, its chief isn’t. Earlier this month, Pakistan’s close ally China blocked an Indian bid to sanction Azhar, accused of masterminding the Pathankot attack, at the UN.
Jaishankar sought “immediate” consular access to Khulbushan Jadhav, a former naval officer who, he said, was “abducted and taken to Pakistan.”
The Pakistani side described Jadhav as a purported RAW operative and expressed “serious concern over RAW’s involvement in subversive activities in Balochistan and Karachi”. Such acts, Chaudhry said, “undermine efforts to normalise relations”.
Pakistan also raised all outstanding issues, including Kashmir, which Chaudhry said was “the core issue that requires a just solution in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions and wishes of the Kashmiri people”. According to a statement from the Pakistani mission, Chaudhry “conveyed concern over the environment being created in India for the release of the prime suspects of the Samjhauta Express blasts” and said India had not “shared investigation reports” regarding the 2007 bombing of the cross-border train that killed 42 Pakistanis.