India-Pakistan Foreign-Secretary level talks unlikely in February: Sources

The Foreign-Secretary level talks between India and Pakistan are unlikely to take place in February, top sources said.

The talks are in freeze even as foreign secretaries and National Security Advisers (NSAs) of both the countries are in touch.

Sources said that India too is not in a hurry to propose new dates for talks. They added that the information on action against Pakistani terrorist Masood Azhar and Jaish-e-Mohammad post-Pathankot terror attack is also very unclear.

In the midst of immense uncertainty over Foreign Secretary-level talks after the Pathankot terror attack, advisor to Pakistan Prime Minister on foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz had earlier said that they are waiting for India's response. "We are still waiting for India to suggest the dates for the Foreign Secretary-level talks. The ball is in India's court," Sartaj Aziz had said.

The Foreign Secretary-level talks which were to be held on January 15 in Islamabad has mired in murky waters after the fatal Pathankot terror attack. The attack was reportedly carried out by Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists on the intervening night of January 1 and 2.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had said that his government is fully determined to expedite the implementation of a National Action Plan to eliminate terrorism and assured that all steps will be taken to root out the menace of terrorism.

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