Pakistan Foreign Secy to Visit India for Heart of Asia Conference

The two secretaries will discuss the Pathankot issue which has strained Indo-Pak relations.

Indian foreign secretary S Jaishankar (left) and his Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry. (Photo: Pakistan Govt Radio & Reuters)

The Foreign Secretary of Pakistan, Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, will attend the Heart of Asia Conference in Delhi on Tuesday. Government sources said that Chaudhry will also hold a bilateral meeting with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

The Foreign Secretary-level Indo-Pak dialogue suffered after the terror attack on the Pathankot airbase in January.

Indian authorities have provided evidence to the Pakistani authorities proving that the attack carried out by militants of Jaish-e-Mohammad, a Pakistan-based terror group.

An investigation team from Pakistan was also allowed inside the Pathankot terror attack by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

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The Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement here that the Senior Officials Meeting of the Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process will be held in New Delhi on 26 April. It said:

Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry will lead the Pakistan delegation to this meeting.

Pakistan foreign office also said that the delegation will hold bilateral meetings with other leading delegations attending the meeting.

The Foreign Office said Pakistan believes that Pakistan’s participation in the Istanbul conference reflecting “our commitment to efforts for promoting long-term peace and stability in Afghanistan”.

The conference had adopted a forward looking Islamabad Declaration titled ‘Emphasising Enhanced Cooperation for Countering Security Threats and Promoting Regional Connectivity’.

Pakistan had hosted the fifth Heart of Asia Ministerial Conference in Islamabad on 9 December 2015.

The Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process, was established in 2011 as a platform to discuss regional issues of Istanbul.

Congress Demands Context of India’s Pakistan Policy

Congress member Shashi Tharoor, in response to Choudhury’s visit, said that the government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi should explain their Pakistan policy.

The Prime Minister, government need to explain to nation what is the context of their policy. We do not have a coherent Pakistan policy. There’s been many changes of announcements and cancellations that nation needs to be taken into confidence.

Shashi Tharoor, Congress Member