Sushma Swaraj to led Indian delegation at Islamabad conference this week

Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will arrive Islamabad tomorrow on a two-day visit to attend a multilateral conference on Afghanistan.

Tensions have been unusually high between Islamabad, Delhi and Kabul, but the prime minister held brief meetings with Ghani and Modi in Paris last week that seem to have broken the ice.

Mr Aziz said the deadlock in India-Pak ties had eased to some extent.

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut told ANI, “When both India and Pakistan are talking, even then ceasefire violations are continuing along the border against India”. “It’s a betrayal of everything that this government has ostensibly, publicly espoused”, he claimed and said if the talks were so necessary, the government should have explained the rationale behind re-engaging with Pakistsan.

Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj will maintain talks with Pakistan on Wednesday, the first visit by India’s prime diplomat to its rival in three years, a part of efforts to restart a peace dialogue suffering from militant assaults and mistrust.

“It was agreed to carry forward the constructive involvement between both nations”, it said.

The meeting comes in wake of reports that India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is likely to visit Pakistan next week for a regional conference on Afghanistan.

But before we discuss that, here is the complete reproduction of the joint press statement issued after the Bangkok meeting.

While India considers Pakistan-backed terrorism as a key issue in the normalization of bilateral relations, Islamabad wants the focus on Jammu and Kashmir, whose ownership it contends.

The most recent was in August, when talks were canceled following a bitter disagreement on the agenda and due to India’s vociferous objections to a planned meeting between Pakistani officials and Kashmiri separatists.

Ties between India and Pakistan have been tense in recent times. The talks, they say, could lay the groundwork for PM Modi’s visit to Pakistan next year for the SAARC summit.

The statement said the meeting in the Thai capital was held in a “candid, cordial and constructive atmosphere”.

Mr Modi and his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, also had an unscheduled meeting at the Paris climate change talks last week. The Bangkok meeting attracted criticism, with NDA ally Shiv Sena and opposition parties seeking to corner the Modi government inside and outside Parliament over the secret NSA-level talks.