Aziz eyes bilateral meeting during Amritsar conference

Amidst escalating tensions and beheading of an Indian solider, Pakistan Prime Minister’s Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz will arrive in Amritsar on December 3 to attend the two-day Heart of Asia (HoA) conference to discuss ways and means to stabilise Afghanistan. “We have received an official confirmation from Pakistan that Aziz would be attending the HoA conference on Afghanistan,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said on Wednesday.

The conference, which will be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, will see participation of more than 40 countries.

Aziz’s visit may help de-escalation of tensions, as he would be the first high-level official travelling to India after the announcement of Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue in December last year which never took off. The resumption of dialogue got stuck in the wake of terror strikes, including the Pathankot airbase attack, and subsequent incidents which led to intense tension between the two countries.

At the multilateral conference, represented by China, Russia, the US, the UK and other countries, both India and Pakistan would be under tremendous pressure to defuse tensions. Therefore, in all probability, a bilateral meeting may be on the cards. However, there is no official confirmation in this regard. While Indian officials are tight-lipped whether there would be a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the multilateral conference, it is understood that Pakistan is of the opinion that New Delhi should initiate such a proposal.

Last year, the HoA was hosted by Pakistan. It was attended by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj which led to the announcement of resumption of Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue. When India had recently boycotted the SAARC summit which was scheduled to be held in Islamabad, speculations were rife that Pakistan may return the anger by boycotting the HoA conference. Aziz was quoted as saying that “Unlike India, that had sabotaged SAARC summit in Pakistan by pulling out, Pakistan will respond by participating in the Heart of Asia (conference) being held in India. It’s a good opportunity to defuse the tension.”

Besides tensions on borders, both countries have expelled each other’s diplomats as well. On October 27, a staff member of the High Commission of Pakistan in New Delhi, Mehmood Akhtar, was apprehended by Indian authorities while indulging in anti-India activities. He was declared persona non grata. In a tit-for tat action, Pakistan Foreign Office declared Surjeet Singh, Assistant Public Welfare Officer in the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, as persona non grata without providing any justification. Pakistan also withdrew six of its High Commission officials whose names had reportedly appeared in media as a result of the interrogation of Mehmood Akhtar. Pakistan withdrew another two officials, Muhammad Nawaz and Sajjad Ali Butt along with seven family members on November 16.

On November 2, Pakistani media prominently carried names of eight Indian officials of the High Commission of India along with their photographs, alleging that these officials were involved in subversive and terrorist activities. In view of safety and security of these officials and their family members, they were withdrawn and returned to India. As per mutual understanding between India and Pakistan, the effective strength of respective diplomatic Missions cannot exceed 110 at any point of time.

Loc firing naked aggression: Pak

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday termed as “naked aggression” the “unprovoked firing” by India across the LoC that resulted in the death of four civilians and three soldiers. He said  India has failed to comprehend the gravity of the situation. Sharif condemned the Indian firing across the Line of Control which he alleged targeted a passenger bus.