External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj met Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday, amid uncertainty over the Indo-Pak foreign secretary-level meeting in Islamabad scheduled on January 15, following the Pathankot terror attack.
According to official sources, Swaraj had requested for the 20-minute one-on-one meeting in which the recent terrorist attack in Pathankot, where seven security personnel were killed, might have figured.
All terror-related information and inputs about Pakistan-based terrorist groups are provided by the home ministry to the external affairs ministry whenever India-Pakistan meet to discuss bilateral issues.
In a clear message, India has linked the FS-level talks to Islamabad’s “prompt and decisive” action in the Pathankot terror attack for which it has provided “actionable intelligence”.
In a pre-dawn attack, a group of heavily-armed Pakistani terrorists attacked the Air Force base in Pathankot on January 2.
The process of resumption of talks was set in motion after a meeting between Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan in Paris on November 30 on the sidelines of Climate Change Conference.
The meet was followed by the NSAs of India and Pakistan meeting in Bangkok a week later following which the external affairs minister visited Pakistan to attend Heart of Asia Conference during which the two sides announced the resumption of talks under “Bilateral Comprehensive Dialogue” process.
{{/usCountry}}The meet was followed by the NSAs of India and Pakistan meeting in Bangkok a week later following which the external affairs minister visited Pakistan to attend Heart of Asia Conference during which the two sides announced the resumption of talks under “Bilateral Comprehensive Dialogue” process.
{{/usCountry}}In a surprise move, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also visited Lahore on December 25 to greet his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on his birthday in person.