Pakistan High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit said the peace process between India and Pakistan has been “suspended” because of the Kashmir issue.
“There is no meeting scheduled as of now. I think, at present, the peace process is suspended,” Basit told newspersons here Thursday.
On the recent issue of India allegedly sending its RAW official to Pakistan’s Balochistan province, Basit said the incident “irrefutably corroborates what Pakistan has been saying all along.”
Meanwhile, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said the JIT (Joint Investigation Team) that visited India last month to investigate the Pathankot case was on reciprocal basis and in accordance with the existing legal provisions.
He highlighted it was for the first time India has received cooperation from Pakistan in the form of a JIT visit to probe a terror attack in India.
“The work of JIT in India was as per the terms of reference which were agreed between the two governments through their respective foreign offices. They are on reciprocal basis and in accordance with the existing legal provisions,” Swarup added.
This statement from MEA come days after the Pakistan JIT complained of not being able to interrogate the case fully as per their expectations.
India believes that the January 2 attack at the Pathankot Air Force base was carried out by Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists from Pakistan.
“Personally, I feel that this whole investigation is not about reciprocity, but about extending co-op to get to the bottom of this,” Basit said.
On the other hand, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is expected to raise the issue of China vetoing India's bid to ban Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar by the UN with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
Swaraj will be meeting Wang on the sidelines of a trilateral in Moscow on April 18.
According to Swarup, India is in constant touch with China on the matter and further action will depend on the outcome of “conversations” between the two countries.
“This point is known to China, especially in the context of China’s oft-repeated concern on spread of terrorism and their desire to cooperate with us on counter-terrorism. This issue will be dealt with in the UN context. We are in constant touch with China on the matter,” he added.