Pakistani, Indian Foreign Secretaries to Meet on January 15: Aziz

Islamabad, Jan 9 (IANS) The foreign secretaries of Pakistan and India will meet here on January 15, Sartaj Aziz, the prime minister's advisor on foreign affairs, has said.

Kashmir and all other outstanding issues will be on the agenda when Pakistan and India resume their comprehensive bilateral dialogue, Aziz said in the parliament on Friday.

The announcement came after Pakistan launched investigations into the Pathankot airbase attack, The Nation reported.

India had linked the foreign secretary level talks to Pakistan's action against the militants.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday chaired a meeting regarding Jaish-e-Muhammad organisation's involvement in the attack and Islamabad's response to New Delhi.

After the Pathankot air base attack, Sharif called Modi assuring him of "prompt and decisive" action against groups or individuals linked to the attack.

Seven security personnel were killed in the attack on the IAF base in Pathankot. Six terrorists, suspected to be from Pakistan, were killed during the gunfight that began on January 2.

Pakistan and India will remain in contact as Islamabad believes it needed solid evidence for a stern action.

Aziz told the house that the foreign secretaries of both the countries would discuss modalities of comprehensive bilateral dialogue and its timeframe during the meeting in Islamabad.

"As per the joint statement issued during the visit of Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to Pakistan, the comprehensive dialogue would include all outstanding issues including the Kashmir dispute," he said.