Indian foreign secretary likely to visit Pakistan on March 3
Indian foreign secretary's visit to Islamabad could pave way for resumption of dialogue process.
NEW DELHI (Web Desk / Agencies) – In sign of thaw in ties, Indian Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyan Jaishankar is expected to visit Islamabad on March 3 as part of his trip to member states of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the Indian media reported.
Besides holding talks with Pakistan’s Foreign secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Jaishankar is also expected to meet with Adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, and Special Assistant to the PM Tareq Fatemi. He is also likely to call on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
This will be Jaishankar’s first visit to Pakistan. It was also reported that he will start his “SAARC Yatra” from Bhutan, then go to Dhaka, then Islamabad and followed by Kabul. His Islamabad trip may spread over March 3 and 4.
ICE-BREAKING MOVE
On February 13, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi telephoned Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and informed him that Indian foreign secretary would soon visit all SAARC countries including Pakistan.
PM Nawaz had welcomed the Indian foreign secretary s proposed visit "to discuss all issues of common interest".
The visit is taking place seven months after India called off foreign secretary-level talks in August last year at the eleventh hour because the Pakistan High Commissioner held consultations with Kashmiri leaders in the run-up to those talks.
India considers the whole of Kashmir an integral part of the country and its decision to halt the talks represented a stiffening of its stand on the 68-year-old dispute over the territory.
The neighbours have fought two wars over Kashmir since independence from Britain in 1947 and ties remain difficult since a 2008 attack on Mumbai.
