Home Minister to visit Pakistan

 

Amid strained ties with our neighboring country Pakistan, Rajnath Singh will be visiting Islamabad for SAARC meeting in August. He is also expected to remind Islamabad of its "reciprocity" in the joint probe into Pathankot terror attack, believed to be the handiwork of terrorists from the other side of the border. A five-member joint investigating team (JIT) from Pakistan had visited India in March to probe the Pathankot attack, but there has not been much headway into the investigation. SAARC home minister's conference is to be held on August 3-4. The first meeting of SAARC Interior/Home Ministers was held in Dhaka on May 11, 2006 followed by a meeting in New Delhi in 2007.

 

The meeting in Pakistan is significant as Singh last week slammed the neighbor state for interfering in India’s internal affairs – the current unrest in Kashmir. During the visit, apart from attending the SAARC meet, Singh is likely to have bilateral meetings with his counterparts from other SAARC member-countries, including Pakistan's Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. The three-tier meeting will begin at the joint secretary-level and then move on to Secretary and Home Minister-level meetings.