Various religious and jihadi outfits in Pakistan are opposed to Singh’s visit as they held him responsible for the unrest in Indian Kashmir.
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During the two-day SAARC meet, Singh is expected to raise New Delhi’s concerns about Islamabad’s support for terror groups and the circulation of fake Indian currency and drug trafficking from Pakistan.
Just before leaving for Pakistan, Mr Singh in a tweet said he was “looking forward to underscore the imperative of meaningful co-operation within the region against terrorism and organised crime”.
Amid continued tension in Kashmir, India on Wednesday said Pakistan’s recent comments glorifying Hizbul “commander” Burhan Wani reflected its continued attachment to “terrorism” and its usages as an instrument of state policy.
The Pakistani Foreign Office Spokesperson, Nafees Zakaria, on Thursday confirmed in a weekly media briefing the participatioj of Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh at the SAARC Home Ministers Conference.
Salahuddin made the threat at a rally in Lahore on Sunday and warned Pakistan government against welcoming Singh who “deployed soldiers in Kashmir to shed the blood of innocents”.
Interior Minister Rajnath Singh will visit Islamabad on August 3 but will not have a separate meeting with the Pakistani host of the meeting of interior ministers from the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
Sharif, who will inagurate the conference, asked Pakistani diplomats to apprise the world that Kashmir was “not an internal matter” of India.
The Pakistani government should not have invited Singh to the SAARC conference, he said. He is also likely to take up the slow pace of investigations into the Pathankot airbase terror attack, which was carried out by Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad.
The meeting will also focus on strengthening networking among police authorities of SAARC member-countries and also enhance information-sharing among law enforcement agencies.
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India has ruled out a meeting between Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan or other leaders, with officials saying the atmosphere is not conducive to such an interaction.
