Amid conflicting reports about the status of India-Pakistan talks, the Indian government has clarified that dialogue between the two countries has not been suspended.
High-level talks between the neighbours have not taken place since January, when India postponed scheduled meetings on Kashmir and other problems after an attack on an Indian air force base that killed seven soldiers.
The January 2 attack on the Pathankot base in the northern India came days after a surprise visit to Pakistan by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that raised hopes of a thaw in relations between the two nuclear-armed nations.
India has blamed Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad group for the attack.
PM Nawaz’s foreign affairs adviser Sartaj Aziz had earlier this week said the talks had not been cancelled even though these could be called suspended as there had been no engagement between the two countries since the Pathankot attack.
Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesman Vikas Swarup on Friday said the dialogue had not been suspended and that the visit by JIT to Pathankot had taken place in a very “constructive and cooperative” environment.
While the Pakistan foreign office had said on Thursday that there was still no official request from India for a return visit by NIA to Pakistan, Swarup said New Delhi will consider taking the next step at an appropriate time. NIA though has already announced that it wants to visit Pakistan to carry forward the Pathankot probe.
Last month, Pakistan sent five investigators to India to probe the attack. India appears to be evaluating Pakistan‘s response before it sends a senior External Affairs Ministry official to Pakistan to resume talks.