ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday described the postponement of the foreign secretary talks as a "negative development" for the peace process between India and Pakistan and said the efforts to combat terrorism and the peace process could not be viewed in a "sequential" way.

Making a rare appearance before the media, Foreign Secretary Riaz Mohammed Khan said at a news conference that Pakistan hoped there would be a resumption of the process soon, although India had given no timeframe for rescheduling the postponed meeting.

"We look at the postponement as a negative development and the linkage between the postponement and the terrorist attacks in Mumbai as incongruous, a bit out of place," said Mr. Khan.

He said the composite dialogue process was an important engagement between the two countries in the interest of both Pakistan and India and also in the interest of the region, and part of the overall policy to promote and build a peaceful environment

"It is with that conviction we are pursuing this process and we emphasise that it [peace process] must be sustained, maintained, should be allowed to progress and that it must succeed", Mr Khan said.

The Foreign Secretary said India must share any concrete evidence it has with Pakistan.

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