Mahmood, 55, currently Pakistan's ambassador in Turkey, was granted a visa by India on Friday, the sources said.
Pakistan on Thursday appointed career diplomat Abdul Basit as its new high commissioner to India. Basit, 55, was earlier tipped to take over as foreign secretary but the government recently made several changes in proposed appointments.
Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit has called up Anupam Kher and offered him a visa to travel to that country if he has applied for the same but the Bollywood actor declined the offer, saying he has already taken up other assignments on the scheduled dates.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has accused Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi of raising questions on sensitive defence matters in Parliament after his marriage to a British citizen. Sarma alleged that Gogoi's wife, Elizabeth Colburn, has links with the Pakistani establishment, including working for an organisation allegedly a front for the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Gogoi has rejected the allegations as "baseless" and said the BJP is trying to divert attention from its own failures.
The Assam Cabinet on Sunday had decided not to register any case against the Congress MP or his British spouse, who the BJP has accused of having ISI links, but instructed the DGP to file an FIR against Pakistani national Ali Tauqeer Sheikh.
As the representative of his government in India, Abdul Basit runs a tight ship at the Pakistan High Commission.
According to experts, slopes in Himachal have become highly vulnerable to landslides due to cutting of rocks at the foothills and the lack of proper drainage system, and high intensity rainfall is making the things worse for the state.
On Tuesday, Karachi Chamber of Commerce cancelled an event of Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Gautam Bambawale at the last minute, apparently over his remarks on Pakistan's interference in Kashmir.
Jammu and Kashmir unit of Vishwa Hindu Parishad termed the invite by Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit to Kashmiri separatists as "strange and ironical," saying the neighbouring country is playing with the sovereignty of India.
They also emphasised that Pakistan should play an "active role in highlighting the human rights violations" in Jammu and Kashmir at international fora.
Pak is keen to settle all issues with India, including the disputed issue of Jammu and Kashmir through dialogue
Pakistan on Tuesday dismissed as "baseless accusations" National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon's remarks that David Headley was linked to the Pakistani establishment and intelligence agencies.
Pakistan has not received a visa application from controversial businessman Mansoor Ijaz, the main accuser in the memo scandal, in Switzerland or any other country, foreign office spokesman Abdul Basit said on Thursday.
The Pakistan government on Thursday dismissed former President Pervez Musharraf's suggestion that the country should be open to the idea of establishing relations with Israel, saying such a move could not be considered as it did not recognise the Jewish state.
Pakistan boycotted the Bonn Conference to emphasise to the world community the importance of its sovereignty even though it wants peace and stability in Afghanistan, Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said on Monday.
Pakistan on Monday criticised the release by WikiLeaks of secret United States' diplomatic cables which raise concerns that radioactive material in nuclear power stations could be used in terror attacks. Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit described the release of the sensitive documents as 'irresponsible behaviour' and said Pakistan is taking stock of revelations concerning the country.
Underlining that it cannot take action against Lashkar-e-Tayyiba founder Hafeez Saeed in the absence of concrete proof, Pakistan on Thursday said that even the United States does not possess any evidence linking the Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief to terrorism.
A Pakistani doctor, who was arrested for helping the Central Investigation Agency in its hunt for Osama bin Laden, is being dealt with according to the country's laws, foreign office spokesman Abdul Basit has said.
Pakistan on Wednesday reacted angrily to a leaked NATO report that accused its security services of helping the Afghan Taliban just as Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar began a visit to Kabul, saying the allegations were "frivolous".
India should demonstrate "seriousness" in implementing its announcements regarding reducing troops in Jammu and Kashmir as a confidence-building measure, Pakistan's Foreign Office Spokesman Abdul Basit said.
Pakistan on Thursday said that the United States probe report on the last month's North Atlantic Treaty Organisation air attack that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers is "not based on facts".
According to Basit, the meetings are following up on the groundwork laid by the foreign secretaries of Pakistan and India during their meeting in Islamabad last year.
Pakistan could grant the Most Favoured Nation status to India by October next year, a senior official of the Foreign Ministry said.
The United States and the world community are aware that Pakistan's nuclear installations are well secured, Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit told the media. Pakistanis are a progressive and moderate nation and there is no question of nuclear installations or materials falling into the hands of militants, he said.
Three Pakistani soldiers were killed and another three injured when North Aatlantic Treaty Organisation helicopters shelled a Pakistani outpost in the restive tribal belt bordering Afghanistan on Thursday, in the fourth cross-border attack into Pakistan in less than a week.
Pakistan Hugh Commissioner Abdul Basit is hopeful that arch rivals India and Pakistan will meet in the final of the ICC World Twenty20 in Kolkata on April 3.
Pakistan on Monday strongly condemned Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram''s comments that Islamabad was playing a role in instigating the Kashmiri population to commit acts of violence. Describing the statement as highly irresponsible and indicative of New Delhi not being serious about solving the Kashmir issue, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said instead of passing such statements, India should focus on halting and human rights abuse taking place in J&K.
India and Pakistan agreed last year on a number of steps aimed at increasing bilateral trade.
Pakistan on Thursday dismissed reports that Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Muhammad Omar was being treated in a Karachi hospital, with the help of officials of the Inter Services Intelligence, after he suffered a heart attack."This is hackneyed speculation with no substance whatsoever," said Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit.He said such reports were aimed at maligning Pakistan and creating misgivings.
An angry Pakistan on Thursday slammed a United States move to freeze aid worth $ 700 million, saying it was "not based on facts and takes a narrow vision of the overall situation", in the latest sign of the fraying bilateral ties. "We believe that the move in the US Congress is not based on facts and takes a narrow vision of the overall situation," said Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit.
Pakistan on Thursday criticised Home Secretary G K Pillai's remarks that the country's efforts to persecute the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai attacks are a "facade", saying such comments were "misleading".
Pakistan criticised a multi-billion-dollar agreement finalised by France to sell twonuclear reactors to India, saying the deal would create"mistrust" and have "serious security implications" in South Asia.
Pakistan has once again blamed India for playing a blame game over their bilateral disputes, including Jammu and Kashmir.
Describing India's massive militarisation as dangerous for peace in the region, Pakistan has said that its military doctrine was purely defensive.
Pakistan slammed Afghan National Security Advisor Rangin Dadfar Spanta for alleging that the country and its military intelligence were linked to terrorists, saying it would not be "distracted by such unfair remarks".
Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit has criticised Indian External Affairs Minister S M Krishna for his remarks that any further terror attack on India originating from Pakistani soil would greatly severe relations, said Islamabad cannot be 'bullied' by such statements.
Needling India, Pakistan on Thursday said that Kashmiri people were resolved to get their right to self-determination and New Delhi should read the 'writing on the wall.'
Reiterating its concerns over the alleged interference of India in Pakistan through Afghanistan, Pakistan has said that the situation in the region cannot improve unless New Delhi stops its covert activities.Referring to the recent remarks of Indian Army chief General Deepak Kapoor -- that the Indian Armed forces were ready to fight China and Pakistan simultaneously -- Pakistan said such statements showcased New Delhi's 'hostile intent', which were not helpful.
On the eve of foreign secretary-level talks in Thimphu, Pakistan on Saturday came out with a provocative statement saying that India's handling of the Samjhauta Express train bombing case showed that it lacked "courage to unearth culpability of Hindu extremists".
Pakistani authorities have rejected the demand of the United States to release an American diplomat who shot dead two youths in Lahore, saying the matter would be handled in court according to the country's laws. Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit told a TV news channel on Sunday that the matter was already in court and the Punjab police were investigating the shooting incident in Lahore on Thursday. "It would not be appropriate to publicly talk on this issue," he said.
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