Indian Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met his Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry on Tuesday at a South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation dinner in Nepal. This was the first time the two have met since the Pathankot airbase attacks in January, which derailed bilateral ties between the two nations. The two exchanged courtesies at the function, which was held in the run up to the SAARC meeting for foreign ministers, which begins on Thursday.
Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is expected to meet Sartaj Aziz, the Pakistan prime minister’s adviser on foreign affairs in Pokhara, where the SAARC meeting will take place. According to The Indian Express, Aziz is expected to hand over an invitation from Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the SAARC summit, which will be held in November this year.
However, diplomatic relations took a hit earlier in the day, after reports emerged claiming India had denied visas to seven Pakistani officials who wanted to attend the ongoing World T20 tournament. While there was no official communication on the matter from both countries, ANI reported that the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday issued summons to Indian Deputy High Commissioner in Islamabad JP Singh as a sign of protest.
According to India Today, two of the seven diplomats were given the travel permits, but the remaining five were denied permission because of their links with the country's defence ministry and its Inter-Services Intelligence agency.
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