NEW DELHI : Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar in his coming trip to Pakistan is all set to actively explore resumption of formal dialogue between the two countries. “The visit, which is taking place as part of the overall SAARC yatra will happen very soon,” sources said here. After the tough stand taken by India while calling off the Foreign Secretary-level talks in August in protest against Pakistan engaging Kashmiri separatist leaders, all were surprised when Mr Modi last week called up Mr Sharif to convey his best wishes for the world cup cricket in which both the countries were playing.
Though he had called up the leaders of other SAARC nations Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, it was his call to his Pakistani counterpart which evoked interest across the sub-continent.
It is believed that the aim of Mr Modi’s “cricket ball” was much more beyond the sports event. The diplomatic and media circles are agog about the reasons for Mr Modi finally taking the initiative to break the ice. Successful conclusion of elections in Kashmir in which his party BJP is all set to form government with the PDP is being cited one of the factors that would allow India to talk to Pakistan with a position of strength.
US President Barack Obama during his recent visit is also understood to have expressed strongly in favour of the two neighbours resuming dialogue in the interest of peace in the region.
The Foreign Secretary is expected to resume from where Prime Minister Narendra modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif left last year.
The two Prime Ministers in their last meeting here had given a go ahead of the Foreign Secretary-level talks, as a result of which it had been decided that Mr Jaishankar’s predecessor Sujatha Singh would travel to Islamabad to hold talks with her Pakistani counterpart.
However, just ahead of the meeting Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit invited separatist Kashmiri leaders for talks, provoking India to call off the Foreign Secretary’s visit. (AGENCIES)
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