India’s home minister arrives in Islamabad to attend SAARC meeting


Rajnath Singh arrives in Islamabad. PHOTO COURTESY: ANI

Rajnath Singh arrives in Islamabad. PHOTO COURTESY: ANI

India’s interior minister Rajnath Singh arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday to attend the one-day meeting a meeting of home ministers from countries belonging to the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc).

He is the first high-level official to come to Pakistan since December 2015, when Narendra Modi landed in Lahore to meet Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

However, Singh will not hold a one-on-one meeting with Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar.

His visit comes in the backdrop of growing strains on Pakistan-India ties as tensions flare between the nuclear-armed rivals over unrest in disputed Kashmir.

New Delhi rules out bilateral meetings with Pakistani officials on sidelines of Saarc

The Saarc group includes India, Pakistan, Nepal, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed has warned of countrywide protests in Pakistan if the Indian home minister is allowed to attend the SAARC home ministerial conference in Islamabad.


Original news : http://tribune.com.pk/story/1155191/indias-home-minister-arrives-islamabad-attend-saarc-meeting/