Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit meets Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani in Delhi

NEW DELHI: Less than a week after Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar’s visit to Pakistan, High Commissioner Abdul Basit met Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani in a move that may not go down well with Delhi.

The duo met approximately for 30 minutes on Monday afternoon at Geelani’s residence in Delhi and discussed Jaishankar’s visit to Islamabad as well as the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, where a political row has erupted over the release of separatist Masarat Alam.

Geelani said the Pakistani envoy discussed Jaishankar’s meetings in Islamabad last week. “I told him that all issues stem from Kashmir. If the Kashmir issue is resolved then all issues will be solved easily,” the Hurriyat leader told media in Delhi.

India had called off Foreign Secretary-level talks in August last year over Pakistani envoy’s meetings with Hurriyat leaders just ahead of the dialogue. It was only resumed after PM’s phone call to his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in January. India maintains all contentious issues, including Kashmir, should be discussed bilaterally.

Jaishankar’s visit to Islamabad last Tuesday, as part of a Saarc yatra at PM Modi’s instance, was seen as a breakthrough after months of chill in ties. Jaishankar and his Pak counterpart AA Chaudhry had discussed ways to resume the stalled dialogue process, official sources said. Jaishankar had also called on Pak PM Nawaz Sharif and delivered a letter from PM Modi.

Meanwhile, Pak Premier’s Foreign Affairs Advisor Sartaj Aziz has said that Modi will “certainly” visit Pakistan next year to attend the Saarc summit. He was talking to reporters after attending a two-day conference at the 6th Think Tank Forum of Islamic Countries at Islamabad on Sunday.