Pakistan foreign secretary’s private visit fuels talks speculation

NEW DELHI: Pakistan foreign secretary and erstwhile high commissioner Sohail Mahmood’s visit to Delhi on Eid has sparked speculations of possible meetings between him and Indian officials ahead of a potential interaction between the prime ministers of the two countries in Bishkek next week.

Mahmood, who returned to Islamabad from here last April, was seen offering namaz on the occasion of Eid in the Jama Masjid along with senior Pakistani diplomats posted in Delhi.

Neither India’s ministry of external affairs nor the Pakistan high commission have commented on Mahmood’s presence here.


Mahmood was the former Pakistani high commissioner to India before he was appointed foreign secretary.

He arrived here on Tuesday and is expected to depart on Friday. Reports said that he is in New Delhi to accompany his family back to Islamabad.

His quiet visit here has raised speculation about a possible meeting between PM Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan in Bishkek on the side lines of the SCO summit. Khan had called Modi to congratulate him on his re-election.

India-Pakistan ties, which have been lukewarm since 2016, have been particularly tense since the February 14 terrorist attack in Pulwama.

India responded through cross-border Air Force strikes in Balakot on a Jaish-e-Mohammed camp. Further in a shot in arm for India, JeM chief was declared a global terrorist by the UN Security Council.

Meanwhile, troops from India and Pakistan on Wednesday exchanged sweets to commemorate Eid-ul-Fitr at several points along the border.