Last month, Pakistan extended an invitation to the top Indian diplomat for a ministerial meeting of the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process to be held in Islamabad on December 8 and 9. Senior officials from 27 countries, including the United States, Russia, Iran, Turkey and China, will attend the two-day conference to be inaugurated jointly by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Although there is no official confirmation as to who will represent India at the conference, officials at Pakistan’s Foreign Office and an Indian diplomat said that Swaraj will most likely attend the conference following this week’s unscheduled meeting between the prime ministers of Pakistan and India in Paris.
The meeting between Nawaz Sharif and Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the international climate change summit in the French capital appeared to be more than just a ‘courtesy call’, said a Pakistani official.
“India will host the next meeting of the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process, so there is every likelihood that the Indian foreign minister will travel to Islamabad,” said the official, who requested not to be named because he is not authorised to speak to the media on such matters.
An Indian diplomat also did not rule out Sushma’s tour. “There is no formal communication yet, but indications are that she will visit,” the diplomat said.
The Indian media has also quoted unnamed government officials as saying that Sushma would visit Pakistan next week. NDTV report said she would attend a 27-nation meeting on Afghanistan in Islamabad. Officials in Islamabad said the Indian foreign minister will meet her Pakistan counterpart and pay a courtesy call on the prime minister if she travels to Islamabad. Talks on the sidelines of the Heart of Asia meeting will focus on reviving talks between the two countries.
One official said Pakistan would seek resumption of dialogue on all issues, including the longstanding Kashmir dispute. In August, a crucial meeting between the national security advisers of Pakistan and India was cancelled at the eleventh hour after bitter differences over the agenda of talks.
But brief interaction between Nawaz and Modi in Paris this week has renewed hopes of some kind of rapprochement between the two hyphenated neighbours.
