India bars Pakistan delegation from Delhi visit to discuss draft agreement on Kartarpur Corridor

The meeting will be held on March 14 at the Wagah-Attari border.

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – India while maintaining its deterrence on Wednesday barred the Pakistani delegation from visiting New Delhi to discuss draft agreement on Kartarpur Corridor.

The first meeting between India and Pakistan to discuss and finalise the modalities for Kartarpur corridor would be held at Attari-Wagah (Indian side) on 14 March, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.

"India has also proposed that a technical level discussion on the alignment of the corridor be held on the same day on the sidelines of this meeting," the MEA said.

Earlier, the Foreign Office said in a press release that India and Pakistan will discuss the draft agreement on Kartarpur Corridor this month by exchanging visits by their respective delegations.

The Pakistan Delegation was to visit New Delhi on March 14, 2019, followed by the return visit of the Indian delegation to Islamabad on March 28, 2019.

It was conveyed to the Acting Indian High Commissioner who was called to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today by Dr. Mohammad Faisal, Director General South Asia & SAARC on Tuesday.

He was told that Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India will be returning to New Delhi, after completion of consultations in Islamabad.

The Acting Indian High Commissioner was also apprised of Pakistan’s commitment to continued weekly contact at the Military Operations Directorates level. 

The development came days after a rare aerial dogfight between India and Pakistan over Azad Kashmir ignited fears of an all-out conflict, with world powers rushing to urge restraint.

Tensions between the arch-rivals have escalated significantly over recent days, after a suicide bombing in Indian Occupied Kashmir killed 40 Indian paramilitaries.

A militant group claimed responsibility for the February 14 blast, and 12 days later Indian jets claimed to bomb what New Delhi alleged a terrorist training camp deep inside Pakistan.

Pakistan has denied any damage or casualties, and independent reporting has shown the strikes hit a heavily forested area with little infrastructure nearby. Residents have said just one person was injured.

The next day Pakistani aircraft shot down at least one Indian aircraft and captured its pilot after it violated the airspace.

The pilot was handed back to India last Friday in what Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan called a "peace gesture".