India, Pakistan look to thaw frosty ties with Sushma’s visit to Islambad
Sushma Swaraj is set to visit Pakistan, a first for a foreign minister since 2012
Sushma Swaraj is set to visit Pakistan, a first for a foreign minister since 2012
New Delhi
: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will hold talks with Pakistan on Wednesday, the first visit by India's top diplomat in three years, part of efforts to restart a peace dialogue plagued by militant attacks and distrust.
Swaraj will lead an Indian delegation to Islamabad for talks on Afghanistan, India's foreign ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup said on his Twitter page.
EAM @SushmaSwaraj to lead Indian delegation for Heart of Asia 5th Ministerial Meeting on Afghanistan on December 9 in Islamabad
— Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) December 7, 2015Top Pakistani foreign affairs official Sartaj Aziz said Swaraj would meet him and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
-"This is a good beginning, that the deadlock that was present has to some extent been removed,-" Aziz, the prime minister's adviser on security and foreign affairs, told reporters.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif resumed high-level contacts with a brief conversation at climate change talks in Paris last week and their national security advisers met in Bangkok on Sunday.
Kanwal Sibal, a former Indian foreign secretary, said the foreign minister's visit showed the Modi government had softened its hardline stance towards Pakistan after realising that the lack of sustained talks yielded no returns.
-"The countries can agree to disagree, but they will have to start talking,-" Sibal said.
Taken by surprise, Indian opposition parties questioned the government's on-off approach to talks and a former foreign minister from Modi's party said the policy was being conducted in the shadows.
Since taking office in 2014, Modi has authorised a more robust approach to Pakistan, giving security forces the licence to retaliate forcefully along the border and demanding an end to insurgent attacks in Indian territory.
Swaraj's visit is the first ministerial-level visit to Pakistan since the then foreign minister, S.M. Krishna, travelled to Islamabad in 2012, which was before Modi became prime minister.