Pakistan makes right noises, India says talks not suspended


The dialogue process between India and Pakistan had not been suspended, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup said today, nearly a fortnight after Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit's remark that talks between the two neighbouring nations have been shelved.

Talking to reporters, Swarup pointed out that New Delhi's recent engagements with Islamabad centered around the Pathankot terror attack but other issues have also been part of discussions.

"Multiple conversations have been held between India and Pakistan at multiple levels including at the level of the two Prime Ministers who spoke to each other quite recently. Obviously, after the Pathankot terror attack, the focus of the conversations was on the investigation of that particular attack," Swarup said when asked about the status of On the status of India-Pakistan dialogue.

"However, other aspects of the relationships have also been discussed. I have made statements and so has my Pakistani counterpart. So this should give you clarity that the dialogue process has not been suspended," he added.

On Thursday Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria said, "Pakistan will be ready to talk when India is ready."

"This question has been repeatedly asked and I would not enter into the debate of what words were used by both sides," he said at the weekly briefing.

To another question, he said that Pakistan and India are the two neighbors which "must live in peace and harmony".


During an interaction with reporters in New Delhi earlier this month, Basit had said, "I think at present the peace process between India and Pakistan is suspended."

Asked about Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's foreign affairs adviser Sartaj Aziz's remarks that Pakistan may consider allowing a visit by the NIA team if India would make a formal request, Swarup said, "The (Pakistan) JIT visit was held in a constructive and cooperative environment to investigate the Pathankot Air Base attack. We welcome cooperation to combat all forms of terrorism. The investigations are ongoing. We will consider the next step at appropriate time."

Earlier this week, Sartaz Aziz played down the controversy surrounding 'suspension' of dialogue between the two nuclear-capable neighbouring nations. "The word suspended doesn't mean cancelled or given up," Aziz told a television channel.

Despite Abdul Basit's 'suspended talks' comment, Pakistan says dialogue with India on

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

World's brightest Synchrotron to be built by China

Image
The facility, dubbed Beijing light source, will meet the national security demands and create aerospace materials among other products. China plans to build a next-generation synchrotron radiation facility in Beijing, according to a researcher from Chinese Academy of Sciences. A synchrotron is a large device that accelerates electrons to almost the speed of light. Dong Yuhui said on Monday that the project is expected to start in November 2018 and will be completed in six years. The total investment will reach 4.8 billion yuan ($698 million), the China Daily reported. The facility, dubbed Beijing light source, will meet the national security demands and create aerospace materials among other products. It will provide high-resolution method to know substantial structures better. Beijing light source will be the so-called fourth generation light source and its key performance indicators would be higher than the third-generation ones. It will create the brightest X-rays worldwide,
Read more

Massive Cobra Cake Made By Mom

Image
When Kristi’s son was moving up from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts, she decided that the special occasion called for a special treat. She wanted to create something memorable, something that her son’s whole troop could enjoy. And did she deliver! The name of her son’s troop was the Cobra Den, so she decided to bake and decorate a cake that looked like a cobra. And she did—but she went way above and beyond. She got up at 5:00 in the morning, baked five separate Bundt cakes, and arranged them to create a six-foot-long slithering snake cake. Cutting the Bundt cakes in half, she put the halves end to end to make them look like a curving snake body. She used multiple batches of Rice Krispie Treat mix (which she also made) to sculpt the hooded head and pointy tail. Here are 12 baking mistakes you didn’t know you were making. With the cake put together, it was time for the frosting, which she also made herself. But she didn’t spread the frosting on the cake—she covered the whole thing with ti
Read more

Gambia's Jammeh Finally Surrenders

Image
Al Hadji Yahya Jammeh, President of the Republic of the Gambia, addresses the 69th United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters in New York September 25, 2014. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson (UNITED STATES – Tags: POLITICS) – RTR47Q3A Embattled out-gone President Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia has asked a shift in deadline of midday to 4pm to vacate office as ECOWAS soldiers close on him. Government sources said the request was made when the leaders of Guinea and Mauritania arrived in the capital, Banjul, in a last-ditch diplomatic effort to get him to cede power. A regional military force that crossed the border in support of his democratically elected successor, Adama Barrow, was awaiting orders on Friday. Marcel Alain de Souza, chair of the west African union Ecowas, said troops would force Jammeh out if he refused to leave the country. Jammeh The West African troops entered the Gambia on Thursday night, hours after Barrow was forced to hold his inauguration as president in Daka
Read more