Indian MPs in Pakistan for SAARC conference

According to some media reports, a three-member Parliamentary delegation of Indian MPs reached Islamabad on Tuesday to participate in the first Saarc Young Parliamentarians Conference (YPC) on “Peace and Harmony for Development”.

According to reports, the delegation is being led by Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo, BJD Lok Sabha member, while the other two members in the delegation are Alok Tiwari of Samajwadi Party, a Rajya Sabha member, and Lok Sabha member Devji Patel of the BJP.

The conference is reportedly an initiative of the Pakistan National Assem-bly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq. The two-day conference apparently commenced Tuesday morning and is said to be one of the events in the run up to the 19th Saarc summit that Pakistan is scheduled to host in November.

As many as 50 Members of Parliament from Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are said to be taking part in the conference. MEA sources said details of the visit were not available with them. The visit comes at a time of increasing strain in Indo-Pak ties.