India, Pakistan foreign secretaries interact ahead of SAARC meet

Indian Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and his Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry on 15 March exchanged courtesies at the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) dinner in Nepal.

The meet marks the first official interaction between the two foreign secretaries since the 2 January terror attacks on the Pathankot airbase - which derailed bilateral ties between the two nations.

Jaishankar and Chaudhry also shared a boat ride hours before exchanging courtesies at a function - held in the run up to the SAARC foreign ministers meet which begins on 17 March. 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.

Diplomatic relations took a hit on 15 March following reports that India had denied visas to seven Pakistani officials who wanted to attend the ongoing World T20 tournament. Two of the seven diplomats were given the travel permits, but the remaining five were reportedly denied permission because of their links with the country's defence ministry and its Inter-Services Intelligence agency.

While there was no official communication on the matter from either country, it was reported that the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday issued a summons to Indian Deputy High Commissioner in Islamabad, JP Singh, as a sign of protest.

-- ANI