Sartaj surprises, arrives early
UNEXPECTED MOVE MEA mum on Sharif’s foreign policy adviser’s change in plan; key Modi-Ghani huddle today
AMRITSAR: In a surprise move, Pakistan’s top diplomat Sartaj Aziz arrived in Amritsar on Saturday to attend a key meet of Asian leaders, advancing his trip by a day, even as New Delhi and Islamabad struggled to improve frosty ties.
It was also learnt that the bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghanistan president Ashraf Ghani could now take place on Sunday instead of Saturday, on the sidelines of the Heart of Asia conclave.
The Heart of Asia initiative, launched in 2011, includes 14 countries including China and Russia and is aimed at encouraging economic and security cooperation.
Aziz, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ’s foreign policy adviser, was to arrive in Amritsar on Sunday to attend the ministerial meet on Afghanistan. However, there was no formal reaction from the external affairs ministry on the change in plan.
Aziz on Saturday night attended the dinner for the participants. Prime Minister Modi and Afghan President Ghani were also present.
Aziz, during the day, sent a bouquet to external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj at her residence.
Ties between India and Pakistan have deteriorated sharply in recent months after a series of attacks on Indian military bases in Kashmir and Punjab, which New Delhi says have either been carried out by militants sneaking in from Pakistan or orchestrated by groups based there. Pakistan denies the charges.
Ahead of the Amritsar conference, India said cross-border terrorism cannot be the new normal in India-Pakistan ties, signalling in a hardening of posture against the neighbour.
However, surprises never eluded India-Pakistan ties which many times went against a predicted script including an unannounced visit of Modi to Lahore to meet Sharif.
The last two Heart of Asia conclaves had India-Pakistan bilateral meetings. In December 2015, Sushma Swaraj attended the Heart of Asia ministerial in Islamabad.
And earlier this year, foreign secretary S Jaishankar met his Pakistan counterpart in the meeting of the senior officials grouping in New Delhi.