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R Prasannan
R Prasannan

INDIA-PAK TIES

Aziz will come to Amritsar, no bilateral yet

india-pakistan-1reuters.jpg.image.975.568.jpg.image.975.568 [File] If Aziz's willingness to attend the meeting is taken as an olive branch, there could be pressure on India from world powers to soften its stand and agree to a bilateral | Reuters

While Pakistan Prime Minister's Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz has confirmed that he will attend the Heart of Asia meeting early December in Amritsar, there is little likelihood of he meeting any Indian leader bilaterally. 

All the same, Indian foreign office spokesman Vikas Swarup hasn't ruled out a bilateral meeting either. “As of today, there is nothing,” he said.

Aziz's willingness to attend the meeting is significant, since India had boycotted the SAARC summit that was scheduled to take place in November in Islamabad, Pakistan. India's boycott was followed by a few other members, leading to cancellation of the summit.

If Aziz's willingness to attend the December 3-4 Amritsar meeting is taken as an olive branch, there could be pressure on India from world powers to soften its stand and agree to a bilateral.

However, with Aziz's counterpart Sushma Swaraj being indisposed, it is more likely that even if a bilateral takes place, it will be between the foreign secretaries. 

Heart of Asia is a 13-country initiative primarily focused on Afghanistan. This year's meeting will be jointly opened by Prime Minisiter Narendra Modi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. 

India and Pakistan had been upping their ante in the last few days. On Wednesday, Indian foreign secretary S. Jaisankar had talked of Pakistan getting isolated in South Asia. Earlier, during the BIMSTEC outreach summit at Goa too, Indian diplomats had talked of the possibility of floating and strengthening regional forums and initiatives minus Pakistan.

Earlier on Wednesday, Sartaj Aziz had announced that Pakistan was launching a diplomatic initiative, with ISI support, to contact anti-Narendra Modi elements among the Indian diaspora across the world. He was thus holding Modi personally responsible for Indo-Pakistan relations getting nasty.

Meanwhile, the firing between the armies on both sides of the line of control in Kashmir has been continuing without respite. The Pakistan high commissioner was issued this month's fourth demarche on Wednesday evening over the firing incidents.

Swarup alleged that Pakistan army had fired on 27 occasions in the five days between November 16 and 21, and that 18 villages on the Indian side had been hit. He also alleged that Pakistan army had been using higher-calibre weapons—from mortars to full-scale artillery.

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Topics : #India-Pak

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