Window of goodwill with Pakistan closing down: Indian minister

NEW DELHI: Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has said while Prime Minister Narendra Modi had opened a window of goodwill and dialogue with Pakistan, it was now closing as doubts remained about its sincerity in tackling terrorism, according to a report carried by Indian media on Saturday.

"Prime Minister Modi opened a window of opportunities when he visited Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. I think that window is slowly closing. Before it closes, Pakistan needs to develop that trust with India on its sincerity on the approach," he said.

"Pakistan separates terrorists between good ones and bad ones. They are after bad ones but the good ones are promoted to operate in Afghanistan and India. I think that needs to be tackled at a diplomatic level," Mr Parrikar said.

The minister's comment at Shangri-La Dialogue, an inter-governmental security forum in Singapore, that referred to PM Modi's surprise visit to Lahore in  December last year, was backed by a tweet from BJP national General Secretary Ram Madhav. Despite a phone conversation between PM Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif ahead of the latter's heart surgery, ties between India and Pakistan had cooled in recent weeks over the probe into the terrorist strike on the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot in January.

Following a trip by a team of Pakistani investigators to the secure facility in Punjab, Pakistan had not cleared a counter-request for officers from India's premier investigation agency, the NIA, to visit Pakistan.

India's External Affairs Ministry said the role of Pakistani nationals in the terrorist strike on the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot "is an accepted fact" while the NIA refuted reports of exonerating the country's government in aiding the terrorists.