ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh will arrive in Islamabad next month, making the first visit by a top Indian leader to Pakistan following the Pathankot air base attack.
Rajnath Singh’s visit will aim at attending the two-day South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Interior and Home Ministers Conference scheduled in Islamabad on August 3-4.
The Foreign Office Spokesman Nafees Zakaria in his weekly news briefing in Islamabad on Thursday confirmed the visit of Indian home minister to participate in the SAARC Ministerial level conference in Islamabad.
“Home minister will be going to Pakistan for the two-day conference and may also have bilateral meetings with senior figures in the Nawaz Sharif government,” the Indian media reports said on Thursday quoting sources.
The Indian home minister will also meet Pakistani Counterpart Chaudhry Ali Khan on the sidelines of the SAARC Interior Ministers Conference.
It will be the first visit of any Indian top leader since January 2 terrorist attack at the Indian Air Force (IAF) base in Indian Punjab’s Pathankot.
The visit comes as fresh allegations by Islamabad and New Delhi against each other over the situation in Indian-administered Kashmir has further deteriorated the already tense ties between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
Indian alleges that Pakistan was behind recent violent protests in Occupied Kashmir erupted following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant commander Burhan Wan whereas Islamabad accuse Indian forces of brutally victimizing innocent Kashmiri people.
