Indo-Pak foreign ministers to meet at UNGA in New York

This is just a meeting, too much should not be read into the proposed meeting... This is not a resumption of dialogue. They asked for a meeting, we said ‘yes’ I between must distinguish a meeting and a dialogue. This does not indicate any change in policy as far as our stand on crossborder terrorism is concerned

RAVEESH KUMAR , spokesperson, external affairs ministry

NEW DELHI: India confirmed on Thursday that external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj will meet her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi in New York later this month in response to a letter from PM Imran Khan to PM Narendra Modi seeking such a meeting.

As the neighbours struggle to shake off their accumulated trust deficit, India made it clear the meeting would not amount to resumption of bilateral dialogue or any change on its stated position on cross-border terrorism.

This will be the first such highlevel contact between the two sides since India snapped all formal talks with Pakistan following the terror attack on Pathankot airbase in 2016. “I can confirm that on the request of the Pakistani side, a meeting between EAM and Pakistani foreign minister will take place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly at a mutually convenient date and time,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar told a news briefing.

“This is just a meeting, too much should not be read into the proposed meeting,” Kumar said. “This is not a resumption of dialogue. They asked for a meeting, we said ‘yes’.”

He added: “I must distinguish between a meeting and a dialogue. This does not indicate any change in policy as far as our stand on cross-border terrorism is concerned.”

Swaraj will leave for New York on September 24. She and Qureshi are heading the delegations of their countries to the UN General Assembly. The two foreign ministers will attend the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) foreign ministers lunch and get-together on September 27.

The meeting between Swaraj and Qureshi, expected to be held the same day, will be a standalone affair.

Khan’s letter to Modi, dated September 14, facilitated the meeting.

Khan had proposed a meeting between the foreign ministers on the sidelines of the UNGA meeting as he batted for the two sides to resume the comprehensive dialogue to discuss all contentious issues. Significantly, Khan wrote: “Pakistan remains ready to discuss terrorism.”

While endorsing Modi’s suggestion for “constructive engagement”, Khan acknowledged that the two countries have “an undeniably challenging relationship”. The two sides, he added, should peacefully resolve all outstanding issues, including Kashmir, to bridge differences.

New Delhi clarified its position on the Saarc Summit hasn’t changed.