ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday took up with India the issue of arrest of its spy Kulbhushan Yadav and expressed serious concern over RAW’s involvement in subversive activities in Balochistan and Karachi.
Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry, who met his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar in New Delhi on the sidelines of Heart of Asia conference, said such acts undermine efforts to normalise relations between the two countries.
He also expressed concern over the environment being created in India for the release of the prime suspects of Samjhauta Express blasts, Foreign Office Spokesman Nafees Zakaria posted on his official twitter account. He pointed that despite repeated requests, India had not shared with Pakistan the investigation reports of Samjhauta incident in which 42 Pakistanis had lost their lives.
He expressed confidence that on the goodwill generated by the recent high-level contacts, the two countries should remain committed to a sustained, meaningful and comprehensive dialogue process.
The foreign secretary underscored the need for early commencement of comprehensive dialogue for which the Indian foreign secretary’s visit to Pakistan is due.
He underscored Pakistan’s commitment for friendly relations with all its neighbours including India in line with the vision of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Aizaz Chaudhry arrived in the Indian capital Delhi Tuesday to participate in the senior officials meeting of the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process.
“The meeting provided a useful opportunity to exchange views on recent developments in bilateral context,” the spokesman said. All outstanding issues including the Jammu and Kashmir dispute were discussed, he added.
“The FS emphasised that Kashmir remains the core issue that requires just solution under the UNSC resolutions and wishes of Kashmiri people,” he said.
“The meeting provided a useful opportunity to exchange views on recent developments,” Pakistan’s High Commission in New Delhi said in a statement.
It added that “all outstanding issues”, including a dispute between the two countries over the divided territory of Kashmir, were discussed at the meeting.
Indian diplomat reportedly informed Pakistani counterpart Islamabad “cannot be in denial” on the impact of terrorism on the bilateral relations between the two countries.
“Terrorist groups based in Pakistan targeting India must not be allowed to operate with impunity,” Jaishankar told Aizaz Chaudhary.
According to The Hindu, Jaishankar firmly rebutted allegations of India’s involvement in Balochistan or other areas. In this context, he asked which spy agency would put their agent in the field with their own passport and without a visa, said an official source.
“We pressed for immediate consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav, the former naval officer arrested in Pakistan. The discussions also covered humanitarian issues including those pertaining to fishermen and prisoners, and people to people contacts including religious tourism,” the Indian foreign secretary said.
Jaishankar emphasised need for early and visible progress on the Pathankot terrorist attack investigation as well as the Mumbai blasts case trial in Pakistan. He also brought up the listing of JeM leader Masood Azhar in the UN 1267 Sanctions Committee.
The top diplomats of both the countries met for talks in New Delhi after a hiatus of several months following a militant attack on an Indian air base. The low-key meeting between the foreign secretaries, on the sidelines of a regional conference in New Delhi, seeks to restore a dialogue that was derailed by the raid in January on the Pathankot air base that killed seven military men.
Discussions also covered humanitarian issues, including those pertaining to fishermen and prisoners, and people to people contacts.
The two foreign secretaries also exchanged ideas on taking the relationship forward and agreed to remain in touch.
“The meeting between Pakistan and Indian foreign secretaries provided a useful opportunity to exchange views on recent developments in bilateral context,” the Indian media quoted Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit as saying. Basit also attended the meeting.
Last month, Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj met her counterpart Sartaj Aziz at a summit in Nepal and emphasized that any dialogue between the two countries will have to include a detailed response from Islamabad on how it plans to act against those responsible for the Pathankot terror attack.
