External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will travel tomorrow for a multilateral conference in Islamabad, where she will also hold talks with her Pakistani counterpart Sartaj Aziz, who said the focus would be on the resumption of composite dialogue process.
"External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to lead Indian delegation for 'Heart of Asia' 5th Ministerial Meeting on Afghanistan on December 9 in Islamabad," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.
Swaraj's visit comes two days after talks between the National Security Advisors of India and Pakistan yesterday in Bangkok, where they discussed terrorism, Jammu and Kashmir and a range of key bilateral issues apart from agreeing to carry forward the "constructive" engagement.
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She will call on Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and meet his Adviser on Foreign Affairs Aziz on the sidelines of the Afghan meet on Wednesday.
In Islamabad, Aziz told reporters that Swaraj is arriving tomorrow to attend the 'Heart of Asia' Conference and during her visit she will also call on Sharif.
Aziz said the deadlock in Indo-Pak ties had eased to some extent.
During his talks with Swaraj, Aziz said various matters with focus on resumption of composite dialogue process between the two countries will be discussed.
Swaraj's visit comes three years after former External Affairs Minister S M Krishna travelled to Islamabad in 2012 when the countries also inked a visa liberalisation pact.
During her visit, Swaraj will be accompanied by Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, who was also present during the four-hour-long meeting between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his Pakistani counterpart Naseer Janjua in the Thai capital.
The joint statement after the meeting of NSAs said the
talks were held pursuant to a meeting between Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the climate meet in Paris, rejecting the version given by the Indian side then that it was a mere "exchange of courtesies" although Sharif had told Pakistani media that he had a "good meeting" and "doors of dialogue should open".
Before Paris, Modi and Sharif had held bilateral meeting in Russian city of Ufa where they decided that their NSAs would meet to discuss all "terror-related" issues.
However, Pakistan had called-off Aziz' visit after New Delhi had made it clear that he would not be allowed to meet Kashmiri separatist leaders in the Indian capital.
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Asked about possibility of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal falling into hands of terrorists, Basit said, "I think our safety and security regime is second to none. There is simply no possibility whatsoever as far as Pakistan's nuclear assets are concerned."
To a separate question, he said Pakistan's nuclear arsenals are for deterrence.
"You know our full spectrum deterrence is purely for defensive purposes. At one stage you will recall that Pakistan proposed a strategic restraint regime back in 1998.
"So that is still open. The proposal can be considered by the two sides. We hope, whenever talks commences, that will be one area which will be discussed between the two countries threadbare in order to prevent arms race in the region," he said.
Basit also talked about Pakistan's economic progress. "We have begun our march towards stability and prosperity. Nothing can detract us from realising our potential."
He further said, "Pakistan straddles South Asia, Central Asia and West Asia. Our country is therefore destined to become a regional economic hub. And the world will see this happening sooner than later.
