As PMs prepare for Bishkek summit, Pakistan and India drop Eid hints

Pakistan Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood’s visit to India could open a window of opportunity although Delhi has so far stuck to its hard line on dialogue with Pakistan, where it has maintained that talks and terror cannot go together.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan.

With a week to go for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistan counterpart Imran Khan to reach Bishkek for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, Pakistan Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood arrived in Delhi Tuesday night for what sources said was a three-day “private visit”.

On Wednesday, Mahmood, who was the envoy to India till mid-April and whose family is still in Delhi, offered prayers at the Jama Masjid to mark Eid. He was accompanied by Acting High Commissioner Syed Haider Shah and other Pakistan diplomats. Sources said Mahmood’s family is likely to return with him to Pakistan.

In Islamabad, Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Ajay Bisaria met Pakistan President Dr Arif Alvi on the occasion of Eid, where they exchanged greetings. “Exchanged #Eid greetings with President @ArifAlvi in #Islamabad this morning. The President expressed hope for #peace in our region.@IndiainPakistan,” Bisaria tweeted.

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The two events have raised hopes of a possible meeting between Modi and Khan in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz Republic capital, on the sidelines of the SCO summit on June 13 and 14. There was, however, no official word from either India or Pakistan on any possible meetings between Mahmood and Indian officials during his stay in Delhi.

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Pak Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood (left) at the Jama Masjid in Delhi. ANI

Ties between the two countries have deteriorated in the last few years, especially after the Pulwama terrorist attack in February this year. Mahmood’s visit could open a window of opportunity although Delhi has so far stuck to its hard line on dialogue with Pakistan, where it has maintained that talks and terror cannot go together.

In their first conversation since the NDA government was re-elected for a second term, Khan called Modi on May 26 and said that he looked forward to advancing his vision for “peace, progress and prosperity”. In response, Modi said that “creating trust and an environment free of violence and terrorism were essential” for cooperation in fostering “peace, progress and prosperity” in the region.

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This was the first conversation between the two after the Pulwama attack, which was followed by the Balakot air strikes and Pakistan’s retaliation.
On May 23, Khan congratulated Modi on his electoral triumph. “I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia,” he tweeted in English and Urdu.

However, bilateral ties dipped again last Saturday, after guests at the Indian High Commissioner’s Iftaar party in Islamabad were harassed and intimidated by Pakistan’s security agencies, prompting Delhi to lodge a strong protest through a note verbale.

Shubhajit Roy

Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, has been a journalist for more than 25 years now. Roy joined The Indian Express in October 2003 and has been reporting on foreign affairs for more than 17 years now. Based in Delhi, he has also led the National government and political bureau at The Indian Express in Delhi — a team of reporters who cover the national government and politics for the newspaper. He has got the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award for Excellence in Journalism ‘2016. He got this award for his coverage of the Holey Bakery attack in Dhaka and its aftermath. He also got the IIMCAA Award for the Journalist of the Year, 2022, (Jury’s special mention) for his coverage of the fall of Kabul in August 2021 — he was one of the few Indian journalists in Kabul and the only mainstream newspaper to have covered the Taliban’s capture of power in mid-August, 2021. ... Read More

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