Shaukat invited to attend SAARC summit in India

New Delhi, Mar 7 (UNI) External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee today informed the Lok Sabha that Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz had been invited to attend the 14th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit here in April this year.

The invitation, on behalf of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, was extended by Mr Mukherjee during his visit to Pakistan in January.

Speaking during Question Hour, the Minister said during his visit he had also raised the issue of Indian Prisoners of War (POW) in Pakisatn jails, but the authorities denied the presence of any such prisoner in their jails.

However, Pakistan has agreed to his proposal of allowing a group of prisoners' family members to visit the jails to enable them to personally look for their relatives, he said.

The group will be visiting some time in April this year and the Pakistan authorities have agreed to facilitate their visits to the various jails, he added.

He said according to available information, there are 74 Indian POWs in Pakistan jails.

On the Siachen issue, both sides decided the officials would meet at an early date. Both sides also agreed to facilitate movement of diplomats to Noida and Gurgaon in India and Taxila and Hasan Abdal in Pakistan, Mr Mukherjee said.

The Minister further informed that both the sides have agreed that the first meeting of joint anti-terrorism mechanism would take place before the end of March 2007.

He said regarding Sir Creek, the officials concerned will be directed to expedite their work. The joint survey of Sir Creek has begun on January 15, this year. Both sides also decided to launch the Fourth Round of Composite Dialogue with the Foreign Secretary talks on March 13 and 14, 2007.

UNI