The opposition Peoples Democratic Party Monday described the meeting between the foreign policy adviser to Pakistani Prime Minister Sartaj Aziz and the separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference leaders as a 'welcome revival of the process initiated by the National Democratic Alliance government' and said that 'it should be carried forward in all its dimensions'.
"I wrote a personal letter to Mr Sartaj Aziz for the grant of her visa to Pakistan. However, Mr Aziz has not shown the courtesy even to acknowledge my letter," she tweeted.
Pakistan National Security Advisor Sartaj Aziz brings to New Delhi a newfound Pakistani confidence, stemming from its leverage in Afghanistan, says Ajai Shukla
Aziz made the statement in response to another made by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
Aziz said the comprehensive dialogue in January between Pakistan and India will focus on all outstanding issues, including Kashmir.
Pakistan Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid said putting conditions on a guest was against traditions, as India first invited Pakistan and was now creating hurdles.
He also said it was for India to decide on dates for Foreign Secretary-level talks, postponed in the wake of the terror strike.
He did not mention the issue of Jammu and Kashmir.
The conference, which will be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, will see participation of over 40 countries.
A new book reveals that India and Pakistan discussed a communal division of Jammu & Kashmir along the Chenab river before the Kargil war in 1999.
Dossiers about Indian involvement in subversive activities in Pakistan will be presented before the UN, Aziz said.
When asked, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup only said, "There was no meeting."
Osama Ali, a 24-year old resident of Rawalkot in PoK, has been diagnosed with a tumour in his liver and wants to seek treatment in Delhi. "PoK is an integral part of India. Pakistan has illegally occupied it. We are giving him visa. No letter required," Swaraj tweeted.
Aziz also attended a dinner where he exchanged pleasantries with PM Modi.
Sources said a rare exception was made to allow arrival and departure of Aziz, who led the Pakistani delegation, by air at Amritsar which is not a designated port for entry and exit of Pakistani nationals, besides giving swift clearance despite a last minute change in his scheduled arrival by a special flight.
The United States is behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reaching out to Pakistan on Saturday with his decision to send Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar to Islamabad, according to Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan Prime Minister's foreign affairs advisor.
He said there would be progress on some issues soon while it will take time for progress on others.
Pakistan Prime Minister's Foreign Affairs Advisor Sartaj Aziz on met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the two are understood to have talked about bilateral relations.
Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said that hectic diplomatic efforts were made to inform the world leaders about Pakistan's position on the NSG entry.
It is the first time in nearly nine years that India's foreign minister travelled to Pakistan even as the ties between the two neighbours remained tense over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is not attending the Heart of Asia ministerial meeting.
Bharatiya Janata Party President Rajnath Singh on Sunday said that the United Progressive Alliance government had committed a 'diplomatic blunder' by allowing Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's advisor Sartaj Aziz to meet Kashmiri separatists on Indian soil and demanded that the talks be stopped.
Pakistan was "cooperating closely" with India on the investigations in a terror attack case on a key air force base in Pathankot earlier this year, the country's top diplomat has said.
Quoting diplomatic sources, The Express Tribune reported that India and Pakistan were exploring the possibility of a meeting between Swaraj and Aziz and also between the foreign secretaries of the two countries in the Nepalese tourist city of Pokhara.
The brief exchange and handshake between Jaishankar and Sharif took place at a banquet dinner hosted by the Pakistani prime minister at his residence in honour of the delegates attending a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
Reacting sharply, India on Saturday dismissed Pakistan's allegation of 'breach of trust' over the killing of Pakistan Rangers and asked it to adhere to the mechanisms that have been evolved to ensure peace and tranquility on the International Border and Line of Control.
Disapproving of Pakistan Prime Minister's Foreign Affairs Advisor's meeting with Hurriyat leaders, India on Tuesday said for meaningful dialogue for sustainable peace it is necessary that its "sentiments and sensitivities" are respected and termed the recent ceasefire violations by Pakistani army along LoC as "counterproductive".
The two nations had agreed on $700 million deal under which Pakistan was to pay $270 million (Rs 179 crore) from its national funds to purchase eight F-16s while the US was supposed to finance the rest of the amount from its Foreign Military Financing fund.
Parrying a direct reply on whether there will be a meeting between Khurshid and Aziz on the sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meet, Spokesperson in External Affairs Ministry said the External Affairs Minister will take the opportunity to interact "informally" with several other leaders present there.
Pakistan has admitted that the timing of its high commissioner's meeting with the Hurriyat leaders in New Delhi ahead of the foreign secretary-level talks was "perhaps not totally right".
With Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif deciding to retain Pakistan's foreign affairs portfolio, former minister Sartaj Aziz will play a crucial role as his advisor in charting a way forward on issues like relations with India and the United States
According to top official sources, the foreign secretaries will meet only after the Special Investigation Team from Pakistan arrives in India and makes concrete progress in the probe.
Pakistan has claimed that its credentials for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group are "stronger than India" if the elite club agrees on uniform criteria for non-Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty states to join the group.
The upcoming National Security Advisor-level talks between Pakistan and India are in doldrums as both countries seem to be in no mood to defrost the tensions between them.
Pakistan's push to secure NSG membership comes at a time when India is also looking to secure membership of the elite grouping.
Pak-US ties are sliding down the hill due to difference over handling of peace issue in Afghanistan and US' growing defence tie with India.
Jadhav, who was reportedly arrested in Balochistan after he entered from Iran, has been accused by Pakistan of planning "subversive activities" in the country.
Pakistan's incoming Pakistan Muslim League-N government will play its part to lower tensions with India and to normalise relations between the two countries, says a top aide of prime minister-designate Nawaz Sharif.
Aziz said that when it comes to cases involving the death penalty, the international court has always given a stay order.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will travel to Islamabad on Tuesday on a two-day visit during which she will hold talks with her Pakistani counterpart Sartaj Aziz and attend a multilateral conference on Afghanistan.
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