Foreign secretaries of India, Pakistan to draw dialogue roadmap for next six months: Sartaj Aziz

Islamabad: Underlining that there is "visible improvement" in Indo-Pak ties, Pakistan has said the foreign secretaries of the two countries will meet on January 15 to draw up a roadmap for the next six months to carry forward the bilateral engagement.

The Pakistan government will focus on the revival of peace process in Afghanistan and the consolidation of the process of improvement of relations with India, Prime Minister's Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz told Radio Pakistan.

He said the Foreign Secretaries of the two countries will meet here on January 15 to draw up a roadmap for the Bilateral Comprehensive Dialogue for the next six months. The dialogue will cover all issues, including Kashmir, Siachen and water, Aziz said yesterday.

Talking about the policy of a peaceful neighbourhood, he said it ultimately paid back as there is "visible improvement" in relations with India and Afghanistan.

Aziz asserted that economic revival, peaceful neighbourhood and non-interference in affairs of other countries is the cornerstone of Pakistan's foreign policy. Aziz' remarks came as Pakistani militants attacked an Air Force base in Pathankot yesterday.

In a pre-dawn attack, a group of heavily-armed Pakistani terrorists, suspected to be belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammed outfit, struck at the Air Force base in Punjab, leading to a fierce gun-battle.

Pakistan has condemned the Pathankot terror strike and asserted that building on the goodwill created during the recent high level contacts, it remained committed to partner India in tackling terrorism.

The attack came just a week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an unscheduled visit to Pakistan and met Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif with an aim of improving ties.

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 national security advisers' meeting in Bangkok a week later following which External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj visited Pakistan to attend the Heart of Asia Conference.