Sushma, Qureshi will meet soon on sidelines of UNGA

First high- level encounter after 2016 Pathankot attack

The foreign ministers of India and Pakistan will meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly ( UNGA) in New York next week, the government announced on Thursday, the first such high- level engagement since suspension of dialogue between the two nations after the Pathankot air base terror attack in 2016.

Announcing the meeting between external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj with her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi, MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, however, made it clear that the proposed meeting would not amount to a resumption of the IndoPak dialogue and that India agreed to the meeting following a request from Pakistan.

He also insisted the decision doesn’t change India’s position on crossborder terrorism.

During the meeting, likely to take place next week after the UN General Assembly debate begins on September 25, India is expected to strongly raise the issue of terrorism emanating from the Pakistani soil.

The Swaraj- Qureshi meeting will be the first engagement at this level since January 2016 when New Delhi halted the dialogue with Islamabad in the aftermath of the Pathankot terror attack — in which seven security personnel were killed — for which India holds Pakistan- based groups responsible.

Indo- Pak ties have nosedived since then in view of a number of terror strikes by Pakistan- based groups, which India retaliated by carrying out “surgical strikes” in September 2016 across the line of control ( LoC).

India has been maintaining that terror and talks cannot go together.

“I must distinguish between a meeting and dialogue. This does not indicate any change in policy as far as our stand on terrorism and crossborder terrorism is concerned,” the MEA spokesperson said at a media briefing ahead of the Swaraj- Qureshi meeting. The date for the two foreign ministers’ meeting was being finalised by the permanent missions of the two countries in New York, he said, adding that the agenda for the meeting is yet to be finalised.

Ms Swaraj is scheduled to leave for New York on September 22 morning and return on September 30.

The last foreign ministers-level talks were held during Ms Swaraj’s visit to Islamabad in December 2015 to attend the Heart of Asia Summit, where she had met the then Pakistan foreign minister Sartaj Aziz.

After the meeting, the two sides had announced resumption of Indo- Pak dialogue under the comprehensive bilateral format, but the initiative did not take off after Pakistan- based terror groups attacked the Pathankot air base in Punjab.

Mr Kumar said that Ms Swaraj would also attend the Saarc foreign ministers’ meeting on the sidelines of the UNGA in New York. India agreed to Swaraj- Qureshi meeting following a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan, seeking

a ministerial interaction on the sidelines of the UNGA.

Separately, the Pakistan foreign minister has also written a letter to Ms Swaraj reiterating Mr Khan’s proposal for a meeting. Both the letters were handed over to India on September 17 by Pakistan high commissioner, Mr Kumar said.

Mr Khan, who was sworn in as Pakistan Prime Minister last month, has been favouring resumption of talks between the two sides.

Mr Khan also indicated Pakistan’s willingness to discuss terrorism, apart from Kashmir.

In the September 14 letter to Mr Modi, Mr Khan said that a Saarc summit in Islamabad “will offer an opportunity for you to visit Pakistan and for us to re- start the stalled dialogue process”.

Asked about Pakistan’s push for a Saarc summit, Mr Kumar said the atmosphere in the region is not conducive.

“There are a number of other countries in the region who also felt that under the shadow of terrorism, it ( Saarc summit) will be difficult to hold,” said Mr Kumar.

The MEA spokesperson said that Ms Swaraj will also raise the issue of Kartarpur Sahib during her meeting with her Pakistani counterpart. The Kartarpur Sahib shrine in Pakistan is revered by Indian Sikhs, who have been seeking permission for easier access to go there for pilgrimage.