BackCentre says it has not received confirmation of Sartaj Aziz’s visit
Pakistan media had reported that Aziz plans to visit Amritsar for the day-long Heart of Asia conference
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New Delhi: The Indian government said on Thursday it had not received any official confirmation of a visit by Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan’s foreign affairs advisor to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, to India next month for a regional conference on Afghanistan.
India’s comment comes in the wake of media reports from Pakistan that Aziz plans to visit Amritsar for the day-long Heart of Asia conference. The Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process was established in 2011 as an initiative by Afghanistan and Turkey to foster regional cooperation and long-term peace in Afghanistan.
If Aziz’s visit takes place, it will be the first high-profile visit between India and Pakistan since tensions spiralled between the arch-rivals after a deadly terrorist attack on an Indian army base in Uri in Kashmir that killed 19 Indian soldiers in September and could provide an opportunity for both sides to ease the strain in the ties.
Tensions have risen since Pakistan in July described a Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist killed by Indian troops as a Kashmiri leader and mounted a global campaign to highlight what it said were Indian human rights violations in Kashmir. In response to the Uri attack, India conducted special operations in Pakistan-administered Kashmir to destroy terrorist launch pads on 29 September.
Pakistan denied that the Indian strikes took place but there has been a surge in incidents of cross-border firing—seen as Pakistani retaliation to India’s strikes. Both sides have claimed deaths of and injuries to security personnel and civilians.
In New Delhi on Thursday, Indian foreign ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup said: “We have not yet received official confirmation of Pakistan’s participation in the Heart of Asia (conference)."
“Any other issue is at best hypothetical at this stage," Swarup added when asked whether India looked at Aziz’s visit hints at a possible thaw in relations.
According to a PTI report from Pakistan, Aziz told reporters on Tuesday that Islamabad wanted to prove that “Pakistan is with the multilateral process by attending the Heart of Asia Conference as Afghanistan is our top priority".
Aziz’s comment seemed to draw a contrast with India pulling out of the regional South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation or Saarc Summit that was to be held in Islamabad on 9-10 November—seeking to isolate Islamabad in the wake of the Uri raid.
Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Bhutan too pulled out of the Saarc summit late September, leaving Pakistan with no option but to postpone the meeting.
Under the present circumstances, it is unsure whether Aziz would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is expected to open the Heart of Asia conference with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.
On Thursday, Swarup said the Indian foreign ministry had called in a senior official of the Pakistan high commission on Wednesday and protested the continued violation of a 2003 ceasefire along the Line of Control border in Kashmir.
“Despite calls for restraint, Pakistan forces have committed 12 ceasefire violations between 9 and 15 November 2016...These violent acts constitute a clear violation of the ceasefire agreement," he said.
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