ISLAMABAD: Pakistan today called for early resumption of foreign secretary level talks with India, which were scheduled to be held in mid-January 15 but deferred due to terror attack on Indian air base of Pathankot.

The date for the parleys should now be finalized as early as possible following the Indian policy statement of not linking the talks with the progress in investigation on the Pathankot incident, Foreign Office Spokesperson Muhammad Nafees Zakria said at a weekly news briefing.

The two sides, he said, were in contact on the issue, but no date had yet been fixed.

Replying to a question regarding the arrest of Kashmiri students at Jawaharlal Nehru University, the spokesperson said that the Kashmiris had never accepted the unfair trial of Afzal Guru. Pakistan had always voiced concern over Indian atrocities on the people in the occupied Kashmir and raised the issue at all the world forums.

The Spokesperson reiterated that Daesh, Arabic acronym for Islamic State militant group, did not exist in the country.

He condemned bomb attack on a military convoy in Istanbul on Wednesday night claiming many lives, saying that Turkey was a close friend of Pakistan and such loss of precious lives in the terror act there made “us to remember martyrdom of thousands of civilians and military personnel, who have become victim of terrorism in the country.”

About the Afghan reconciliation process, the spokesperson said efforts were on by the Quadrilateral Coordination Group comprising representatives from Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the United States to bring the Taliban back to the negotiating table. He said the next meeting of the group would be held in Kabul on Feb 23 to review the efforts made in this regard.

Answering another query, he said that Pakistan had adopted a principled stand on the Syrian crisis as it desired amicable solution of the issue. Pakistan respected the solidarity and integrity of Syria and wanted resolution of problems by all the groups through talks.

Pakistan, he said, supported the 34-member Saudi-led coalition as it was made to counter terrorism. The decision with regard to Pakistan’s role in the anti-terrorism coalition would be taken at an expert-level meeting, he added.

To a question, he said Pakistan enjoyed friendly ties with Saudi Arabia. A large number of Pakistani expatriates were working in the kingdom and the two countries had an agreement for the welfare of these workers, he added.

The number of high level visits between the two countries after the Yemen issue showed the warmth of the relations and harmony, he said.

The spokesperson said that Pakistan was an important country because of its geographical location and work was in progress for building a transit route to link regional countries under the Prime Minister’s vision.

Replying to a question, he said relations between Pakistan and the Russian Federation were improving.

When asked about US State Department’s concerns on the security of Pakistan's nuclear arsenals, the spokesperson said the same were in safe and secure hands. Washington itself had repeatedly in the past expressed complete satisfaction over their security, he added.