PM-Nawaz meet may be chalked out in Kyrgyzstan

Even though ministry of external affairs kept dodging questions whether the two foreign ministers would schedule a meeting for their prime ministers at October’s UN general assembly, sources said it is most likely to happen. Khurshid and Aziz would be meeting on the sidelines of the ongoing Shanghai cooperation organisation (SCO) meet.

 ‘While he (Khurshid) is in Bishkek on 12 and 13 of this month for SCO, he will take the opportunity to interact informally with several other leaders who will be present there depending on their schedules and mutually convenient time slots,’ MEA officials said, adding: ‘These are usually in the form of meetings which are informal conversations. There are no structured or full-fledged meeting that are planned during the SCO summit because it is a short meeting. Regarding any specific meeting, we are still working on it...’

Khurshid would also meet Pakistan prime minister’s national security and foreign policy adviser on Friday. While the request for a meeting in Bishkek was sought by the Pakistani side through their High Commission here, the Indian side has already given their consent for the same, sources said.

They said the meeting between Khurshid and Aziz was also aimed at reducing tension between the two countries against the backdrop of a series of ceasefire violations and creating a conducive environment for a possible meeting between their prime ministers. Both India and Pakistan have blamed each other for the ceasefire violations and summoned the envoys.