Ties get post-poll push: MP team on way to Pakistan

Sources said that the group of Indian parliamentarians will travel on March 13 and will head to the picturesque town of Murree, about 30 km north-east of Islamabad, where the meeting is going to take place. Delegations from about 40 countries are likely to attend the conference. The delegation is expected to visit Takshashila on the last day, March 17.

Sources said that while India boycotted the SAARC summit in November last year, along with other countries in the region, attending this summit is seen as a step towards normalising the relationship. The Indus water commissioners are also expected to attend a meeting on March 19-20 in Lahore, six months after government had talked about reviewing the Indus Water treaty in the wake of the Uri attacks.

Officials said that while these are two important signals to Pakistan, Islamabad has to follow through on its commitments to take action against Lashkar-e-Toiba chief and Jamaat-ud-Dawa founder Hafiz Saeed who has been put under house arrest under anti-terrorism laws of the country.

“The two sides will now be opening the doors…and the window of opportunity is quite slim, since Pakistan government will move towards the election mode by end of this year. Let’s see how things unfold from now onwards,” a source said. Parliamentary elections in Pakistan are due early next year.

There is a possibility of a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif on June 4 to 6 in Kazakhstan, where both will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Sources said that while it is too early to pin hopes of any substantive movement in the relationship, the relative calm on the terrorism front has been reassuring for the Indian side. However, efforts are underway to manage and contain the diplomatic fallout and not escalate the tense situation.