Post Bangkok thaw, Swaraj to visit Pakistan for talks

It’s official. Building upon the promise of “constructive engagement” in the latest meeting between the national security advisers of the two countries in Bangkok, India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will travel to Islamabad on December 9 to engage the Pakistani leadership on all outstanding issues and to attend the Heart of Asia security conference.

“EAM Sushma Swaraj to lead Indian delegation for Heart of Asia 5th Ministerial Meeting on Afghanistan on December 9 in Islamabad,” announced Vikas Swarup, the spokesperson of India’s external affairs ministry, in a tweet on December 7.

The speculation over Swaraj’s visit had effectively ended after the meeting between NSA and foreign secretaries of the two countries in Bangkok on December 6. The Bangkok meeting, mandated by the prime ministers of India and Pakistan when they met in Paris briefly on the sidelines of the global climate summit in Paris, proved to be a breakthrough, kindling hope for renewed engagement between the two countries.

What’s on agenda?

Although Ms Swaraj’s visit to Pakistan is primarily for the purpose of attending the Heart of Asia conference on the future of post-transition Afghanistan, in which India has huge stakes, all eyes will be on her talks with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz. This will be the first high-level engagement between the two subcontinental neighbours after the Ufa understanding petered out in mutual accusations over the scope of dialogue. The agenda of the talks is not clear, but building upon the NSAs meeting in Bangkok, all issues, including terrorism and Jammu and Kashmir, will be on the table. If all goes well, the two estranged neighbours may begin a new phase of constructive engagement, leading to Mr Modi’s visit to Islamabad to attend the SAARC summit next year.

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