Salman Khurshid to meet Sartaj Aziz in Maldives tomorrow

NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid will be holding talks with his Pakistani counterpart tomorrow on the sidelines of a SAARC meeting in Maldives amidst assertions here that the bilateral meet should not be construed as resumption of comprehensive Indo-Pak talks.

Both Khurshid and Advisor to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz will be present at the SAARC Foreign Ministers meeting and therefore, the leaders are likely to meet for a bilateral, government sources said today.

"However, the meeting should not be construed as resumption of the Indo-Pak comprehensive talks as there is a roadmap, agreed by the two countries, to be followed for the resumption of the talks," they said. Also there is no structured agenda for their meeting, the sources said.

Last time, Khurshid and Aziz met on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe Meeting ( ASEM) Foreign Ministers' meet in India during which they discussed issue of ceasefire violations along the Line of Control ( LoC) and trial of 26/11 terror case in Pakistan among other key bilateral issues.

Khurshid will also hold bilateral meeting with Maldivian Foreign Minister on Friday, a day after the 35th meeting of SAARC Foreign Ministers meeting which is expected to discuss prominently proposals on enhancing connectivity between SAARC countries, strengthening relations with observers, granting the observer status to Russia and Turkey, and trade.

The meeting will also talk about the next Secretary General from Nepal for the eight-member regional body.