Pakistan's NSA to visit Delhi amid rising ceasefire violations

NEW DELHI: In his first visit to India next month as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s National Security and Foreign Affairs Adviser, Sartaz Aziz faces an uphill task of maintaining normalcy in ties amid repeated ceasefire violations along Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir.

Aziz, Pakistani PM’s pointsman for foreign affairs, is expected in Delhi for Asia-Europe (ASEM) foreign ministers meeting on November 11-12, sources in the Pakistan government said. Aziz and External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid are expected to hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the ASEM meeting, sources said.

The Pakistani government sources also hinted that Aziz would discuss areas of India’s current concerns with Khurshid in an attempt to find longstanding solution. Khurshid and Aziz are no strangers to each other having met in September in Bishkek to prepare for Indo-Pak PM-level meeting in New York.

The visit is taking place amid repeated ceasefire violations by Pakistani soldiers despite assurance by Sharif at the New York meeting with PM Mamohan Singh to maintain LoC’s sanctity. The Directors General of Military Operations (DGMO) of the two countries are yet to meet even as the Indian DGMO called his Pakistani counterpart on October 22 to discuss the violation issue.

As per the existing arrangement, the DGMOs talk over hotline every Tuesday to discuss issues on the LoC and the International Border. Singh and Sharif had agreed that the DGMOs would meet. However, there is no possibility of an early meeting between the DGMOs as the two sides are unable to decide on the common dates, government sources claimed.

Altogether 136 ceasefire violations have been reported on the LoC and International Border so far this year. Indian officials regret that Singh-Sharif efforts have not yielded desired result yet. New Delhi is extremely disappointed with Islamabad and views the ceasefire violations as part of Pakistan’s strategy to internationalise the Kashmir issue yet again.