India to talk to Pakistan only after it acts on Pathankot: NSA Ajit Doval

• India-Pakistan Talks Look Unlikely For Friday: Indian Sources

The foreign secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan won’t happen if Pakistan does not act against the Pathankot attack masterminds, Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval said on Monday.

In an interview with NDTV, Doval said that India “will talk only if Pakistan takes action”. The secretary-level talks between the two countries were scheduled for January 15.

Last week, following the Pathankot attack, India had categorically said that “the ball was in Pakistan’s court on the continuation of the resumed bilateral talks” following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s unscheduled stopover on December 25 at Lahore to meet his counterpart, Nawaz Sharif.

“The ball is in Pakistan’s court. The immediate issue is Pakistan’s response to the Pathankot attack and actionable intelligence provided to it,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup had said.

“Cross-border terrorism is again in focus after the terrorist attack on the Pathankot air force base,” he had said, adding that India was not derailing the dialogue.

Ajit Doval has denied that he told Dainik Bhaskar, a newspaper, that talks between the Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan expected this week are cancelled.

Pakistan had announced that the talks would be held on January 15 in Islamabad; India had not confirmed the dates, but has officially not called off the talks yet. Sources in the Indian capital say the dialogue is unlikely to go ahead unless Pakistan delivers on a commitment made over the phone by premier Nawaz Sharif to Prime Minister Narendra Modi offering cooperation for the investigation.

Last week, the Foreign Ministry had said that Pakistan must deliver “prompt and decisive action” on the evidence provided by India of the terror attack on January 2 at the air force base in Pathankot.