“The home minister is going to Pakistan for the SAARC (South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation) Home Ministers’ conference, it’s a multilateral meeting, not bilateral talks, terrorism will figure in the talks”, said Rijiju, minister of state for home affairs.
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The three-tier meeting will begin at the joint secretary-level and then move on to Secretary and Home Minister-level meetings.
Meanwhile, the 7th meeting of SAARC immigration authorities was held in Islamabad on Tuesday, with Pakistan’s director general immigration and passports Usman A Bajwa in the chair.
Kashmiri protesters hold burning posters bearing the images of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh as they block a main highway ahead of the arrival of Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Islamabad on August 3, 2016. Wani was a wanted terrorist of banned Hizbul Mujahideen. Some groups have also asked people to converge at Faizabad – located on the outskirts of Islamabad – to protest against Mr Singh’s visit.
Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed led a rally in Lahore’s Mall Road and vent out his anger over the government’s decision to “welcome” Singh despite his alleged “role in the killings of innocent Kashmiris”.
Before commencing on his trip, Rajnath Singh took to Twitter to say that he is looking forward to underscore the imperative of meaningful cooperation within the region against terrorism and organised crime.
Earlier this week, on Monday, they announced to the world they would protest when India’s home minister Rajnath Singh visits Islamabad for a SAARC meeting.
The Home Minister has already pointed fingers at Pakistan for stoking unrest in Kashmir following the July 8 killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani.
On Pathankot terror attack probe by Pakistan, he said Government was aware of the statements by Islamabad in February that based on initial investigation and the information provided by India, several individuals belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammad were apprehended and offices of the organization were traced and sealed.
Apart from terrorism, the meeting is expected to deliberate other key issues such as liberalization of visas and steps to fight illegal trafficking of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and small arms.
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Such meetings discuss regional cooperation on a number of security-related matters and take stock of progress in various regional mechanisms.
