Meeting With Jaishankar Not 'Finalised Or Requested': Pakistan FM Shah Mehmood Qureshi

The participation of both the ministers at the conference has sparked speculation of a possible meeting between the two leaders amidst recent peace overtures from the Pakistan Army.

Pak Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi (Getty Images)

Amid much speculation that India Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi can meet on the sidelines of the 'Heart of Asia' conference on Tuesday at Tajikistan's capital Dushanbe, Qureshi has said that no meeting has been finalised yet with his Indian counterpart.

The participation of both the ministers at the conference had sparked speculation of a possible meeting between the two leaders amidst recent peace overtures from the Pakistan Army. However, Qureshi told Pakistan Newspaper Dawn  that “no meeting has been finalised or requested”.

The last meeting between Qureshi and an Indian external affairs minister took place in May 2019 in Bishkek on the sidelines of the SCO meeting when Sushma Sawaraj held the portfolio for India.

The Ninth Ministerial Conference of the Heart of Asia - Istanbul Process is scheduled to take place on the 30th of March 2021 in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan.

When asked about media speculation that India and Pakistan have been quietly negotiating for the full resumption of diplomatic relations, Qureshi said, No such decision yet.

Jaishankar last week also did not give a specific reply to questions on whether he will meet Qureshi on the sidelines of the conference.

"My scheduling is in progress. So far I do not think any such meeting (is scheduled)," he said at the India Economic Conclave in New Delhi on March 26.

The militaries of India and Pakistan on February 25 announced that they have agreed to strictly observe all agreements on ceasefire along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir and other sectors.

On March 18, Pakistan's powerful Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa said it was time for India and Pakistan to "bury the past and move forward".

Addressing a session of the first-ever Islamabad Security Dialogue here, Gen Bajwa also said that the potential for regional peace and development always remained hostage to the disputes and issues between Pakistan and India - the two "nuclear-armed neighbours".

"We feel it is time to bury the past and move forward," he said, adding that the responsibility for a meaningful dialogue rested with India.

India last month said it desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan in an environment free of terror, hostility and violence and that the onus is on Pakistan to create an environment free of terror and hostility.

India has also told Pakistan that "talks and terror" cannot go together and has asked Islamabad to take demonstrable steps against terror groups responsible for launching various attacks on India.

(With PTI Inputs)