India-Pak FS to meet today; to talk Pathankot terror strike, NIA visit

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This will be Chaudhary’s first bilateral meeting with Jaishankar, after the proposed meeting on January 14-15 was cancelled following the January 2 Pathankot terror attack.

Indian government sources confirmed that Chaudhary will have “bilateral meetings with other delegations, including foreign secretary Jaishankar”.

After the Pathankot terror attack stalled dialogue process, India and Pakistan’s foreign ministers and foreign secretaries had met in Pokhara in delegation-level talks, again on the sidelines of the SAARC foreign ministers meeting. The two sides announced the visit of Pakistan’s Joint Investigation Team after their bilateral meeting in Nepal.

After External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj announced resumption of the bilateral dialogue process in Islamabad in December last year, the two foreign secretaries were expected to meet and decide the modalities.

Tuesday’s meeting could provide an opportunity for the two sides to take stock of the investigations into the Pathankot terror attack, and how to move forward. The Indian side will be keen to know about Pakistan’s position on NIA’s reciprocal visit to Pakistan, especially after Pakistan envoy Abdul Basit’s comments.

“Since this meeting has been pending for some time now, it will give the two sides a slim window of opportunity to take the matter forward,” a senior official told The Indian Express.

Officials said that one of the major reasons to keep this meeting under wraps was to reduce expectations as well as the media glare. They pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Lahore in December was possible only because it was “announced” at the eleventh hour.

In fact, the announcement about the Pakistan foreign secretary’s visit was announced by the country’s foreign ministry on Monday morning. “The Senior Officials’ Meeting of the Heart of Asia — Istanbul Process will be held in New Delhi on April 26. Chaudhry will lead the Pakistan delegation. Pakistan looks forward to active participation in the forthcoming process, reflecting our commitment to efforts for promoting long-term peace and stability in Afghanistan. Pakistan delegation will also hold bilateral meetings with other leading delegations attending the meeting,” a statement by the Pakistan’s foreign ministry said.

The two Prime Ministers have, meanwhile, been in touch with each other — Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif had also called up Modi after the Kerala fire tragedy.

However, challenges remain between the two sides. Sources said Pakistan high commissioner Abdul Basit’s recent comments that the dialogue process was “suspended” had not gone down well with the Indian establishment. In fact, the Indian side last Friday said that it was “never suspended”.

“This meeting was also necessary to stop the narrative of a ‘suspended’ dialogue process,” a source said.

The two sides will also be meeting in the wake of Basit’s meeting with Kashmiri separatist leaders Asiya Andrabi and others in recent weeks, although that is unlikely to cast a shadow on the talks.

The recent disclosures by a former Navy official, Kuldeep Singh Jadhav, who Pakistan claims was caught in Balochistan for “subversive activities”, could be a factor during the meeting, sources said.

Sources said New Delhi will raise the issue of “consular access” if Pakistan raises the issue of his arrest. “While NSAs have been tasked by the two Prime Ministers to deal with terrorism, Islamabad may use the opportunity to raise the issue in the context of Balochistan. We are prepared to deal with that,” a government source said.

Pakistan government sources told The Indian Express that Islamabad was always ready to take forward the dialogue process, and it was New Delhi which had stalled it. “But we hope this meeting will be productive and lead to future engagements,” a Pakistan diplomat said.