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.
Mahmood, 55, currently Pakistan's ambassador in Turkey, was granted a visa by India on Friday, the sources said.
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.
Basit's unfiltered endorsement of the IPL -- despite the inevitable backlash -- adds weight to a conversation many shy away from.
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.
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.
Talking to reporters in New Delhi, he described the proposed visit of a five-member investigation team of Pakistan to probe the Pathankot terror attack as a "positive development" and hoped they will be able to do their work "productively".
As the representative of his government in India, Abdul Basit runs a tight ship at the Pakistan High Commission.
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.
Pakistan's High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit on Wednesday hoped that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to his country during the next SAARC meet would go beyond SAARC issues.
Rejecting India's stand that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran, Basit said he was caught in Balochistan and tried for 'espionage and sabotage'.
Pakistan on Saturday said dialogue was not a favour by one country to another but a necessity to normalise relations, remarks made in the backdrop of delay in foreign secretary-level talks with India which has made it clear that action on Pathankot terror strike takes the priority.
SAARC summit in Islamabad in jeopardy. A SAARC summit can only take place when leaders of all member countries are present, notes Rajeev Sharma.
Pak is keen to settle all issues with India, including the disputed issue of Jammu and Kashmir through dialogue
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.
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.
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 said on Thursday that India should help it investigate the Mumbai attacks instead of accusing the country's institutions of being involved in the terrorist incident.
Describing India's massive militarisation as dangerous for peace in the region, Pakistan has said that its military doctrine was purely defensive.
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.
Dismissing as "untenable" India linking resumption of talks with action against the Mumbai attack perpetrators, Pakistan said on Thursday, that a "true dialogue" does not come with pre-conditions. It also claimed it had evidence of India's involvement in fomenting trouble in south-western Balochistan province.
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 will soon discuss the issue of India's alleged involvement in terror activities inside its geographical boundaries with New Delhi, Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit has said.Reiterating that the security forces have recovered Indian arms and ammunitions during search operations in South Waziristan, where the military is engaged in an intense battle with the Taliban, Basit blamed India for not taking Islamabad's commitments against terrorism seriously.
Pakistan has welcomed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's willingness to resume bilateral dialogue on all pending issues. "Dr Singh's statement is a welcome reiteration of the understanding reached at the Sharm-El Sheikh summit between Pakistan and India," The Dawn quoted Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit as saying.Basit said Pakistan welcomes India's readiness to discuss all outstanding issues, especially the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.
Pakistan has 'categorically' rejected allegations that it has illegally modified US missiles to enhance its land strike capability.
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.'
Pakistan has denied allegations leveled by Indian Army Chief General VK Singh about the existence of terrorist training camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
"As far as the Indian suggestion is concerned, that will be dealt with according to our own laws and we will respond to India in due course," Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit told reporters.
Pakistan on Wednesday welcomed 'the joint reiteration' by the United States and China to promote peace and stability in South Asia. President Barack Obama indicated on Tuesday that the US wants China to help improve relations between India and Pakistan. He reportedly raised the issue during his meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing.
Pakistan on Thursday said it was "disturbed" by reports that India could be preparing for additional nuclear tests and hoped a unilateral moratorium on testing would remain in place in the region.
They also emphasised that Pakistan should play an "active role in highlighting the human rights violations" in Jammu and Kashmir at international fora.
In yet another flip-flop, Pakistan has denied asking India to handover the lone November 2008 Mumbai attacker Ajmal Amir Kasab to it.
Foreign Office Spokesman Abdul Basit said India has not yet officially informed Pakistan government about the development. Basit said the arrest is an "internal matter" and would have no bearing on SAARC activities
Three days after the foreign secretaries meeting, Pakistan on Sunday said it is ready to participate in the composite dialogue process with India provided there are no preconditions from the other side.
The Indian government has not yet been formally asked to start supplying the aid and the Foreign Office spokesman said the matter is still being discussed. "We are working on it and the decision will soon be made public," spokesman Abdul Basit said.
Pakistan on Thursday said that the information provided so far by India on the Mumbai attacks was not enough for it to take legal action against outlawed Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Mohammed Saeed. "It needs to be underlined that the dossiers and information received from India apropos Saeed are not really enough ... to proceed legally as is being expected," Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit told a weekly news briefing in Islamabad.
Pakistan wanted to evolve a roadmap to discuss bilateral issues with India during the recent foreign minister-level talks but the other side was not prepared to do so, its Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said on Sunday.
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.
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