India Pakistan comprehensive dialogue “suspended”
Pakistani High Commission to New Delhi, Abdul Basit said on Thursday that at this point the India Pakistan comprehensive bilateral dialogue can be considered “suspended” (Post, BBC). Talking to the media he said, "As of now there is no date for the foreign secretary talks. I think you can say for now that the Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue is suspended. Let's see if we can commence the process." However Ministry of External Affairs for India has said the countries are in communication to work out the dates for the foreign secretaries’ meeting.
Diplomatic talks between India and Pakistan were suspended in January after an attack on a military airbase in India, near the Pakistani border at Pathankot. A team of Pakistani experts visited India recently to help investigate this attack. In March, Pakistan claimed to have arrested an Indian “spy” in its Balochistan province. India denied the claim, however it accepted that the man arrested was an Indian citizen and retired naval officer.
China signs $2 billion deals with Pakistan
Companies from China’s western Xinjiang region signed deals with Pakistan worth approximately $2 billion on Friday during a visit to Pakistan by Xinjiang’s Communist Party chief Zhang Chunxian (NYT). The agreements cover infrastructure, solar power, logistics, and other projects. "China and Pakistan have a deep friendship, are good neighbors, friends, brothers and partners," the official Xinjiang Daily newspaper cited Zhang as saying.