LAHORE (Staff Report) – The bad Pakistan-India ties are dramatically improving with every passing day as be it a brief ‘informal’ meeting in Paris, a ‘secret’ meeting of national security advisers in Bangkok or Sushma Swaraj’s Islamabad visit and Narendera Modi’s ‘surprise’ trip to Lahore; its all happening with great pace and so successful as well.
In a latest development, just hours after Indian Prime Minister met Nawaz Sharif at his Raiwind residence, information circulating in India media reports say that foreign secretaries of two countries will meet on January 15 to formally resume the bilateral talks which is now named ‘comprehensive dialogue.’
The reports further said the foreign secretaries of Pakistan and India may ‘prefer’ to meet at a neutral venue instead of any of the two countries ‘to avoid any disturbance and keep it all secret’.
Although there has been no confirmation from Islamabad or New Delhi, the Pakistan’s foreign affairs adviser Sartaj Aziz has hinted that the proposed meeting of secretaries may take place in mid of next month. However he refused to share any details about the place of meeting in his meeting.
It is also pertinent to be mentioned here that foreign secretaries, Aizaz Chaudhry and Jaishankar, were also present in the meeting Friday’s meeting of Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif. But no official information is available whether there was any meeting between the two to the affect of their official meeting next month.
Pakistan and India had announced to resume bilateral comprehensive dialogue in the first week of December when Sushma Swaraj arrived in Islamabad to attend the ministerial meeting of Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process. She also met Nawaz Sharif and Sartaj Aziz during the two-day trip.
Earlier Nawaz Sharif and Narendra Modi agreed on a meeting of national security advisers of both countries in Ufa and a meeting was scheduled on August 22 afterwards. But the meeting was called off after a row between Islamabad and New Delhi over Pakistani High Commissioner’s meeting with Kashmiri Hurriyat leadership in New Delhi.
Observers say that current quick rather dramatic improvement in Pakistan-India ties is not simply a result of diplomatic channels of two countries but United States, United Kingdom and Germany have also played key role in these achievements.
