Pakistan Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhary arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday for bilateral talks with his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar and to attend the senior officials meeting of the ‘Heart of Asia’-Istanbul process conference.
According to spokesman of the Pakistan High Commission in India, “All outstanding issues including Kashmir came under discussion between the two foreign secretaries.”
The Foreign Secretary emphasized that Kashmir remains the core issue that requires a just solution, in accordance with United Nations resolutions and wishes of the Kashmiri people.
In a move that earned sharp criticism from the opposition, Prime Minister Narendra Modi sanctioned a visit to the base by a team of investigators from Islamabad so they could inspect evidence offered by Delhi as proof that the terror strike was planned and executed by Pakistanis.
Pakistan’s foreign secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry on Tuesday also expressed concern about RAW’s alleged involvement in ”subversive activities” in Karachi and the matter of the capture of alleged RAW officer, Kulbushan Jadev, the Pakistan High Commission statement said. He reportedly said such involvement undermines efforts to normalize relations between the two countries.
Even as he underscored his country’s commitment to friendly ties with India, Chaudhry reportedly insisted in the meeting that Kashmir required “a just solution in accordance with the United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Pakistan has sought to provide fresh thrust to the J&K issue in the recent past and it was made obvious further with the manner in which Islamabad declared that Kashmir was its main topic of discussion even before the meeting between the foreign secretaries was over.
“The meeting provided a useful opportunity to exchange views on recent developments in a bilateral context,” Chaudhry said. India is expected to react shortly to what transpired in the meeting
The bilateral talks had got stalled following the attack on the Pathankot air base in which seven security personnel were killed by militants of the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed.
The attack derailed the dialogue process which had kick-started with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s visit to Islamabad last October for a Heart of Asia ministerial meeting jointly hosted by Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Both the sides had agreed on resumption of the bilateral dialogue, naming it Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue.
