Rajnath, other Saarc ministers to meet Pak PM; no bilateral talks on agenda

Islamabad, Aug 4: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will not hold any bilateral talks with his Pakistani counterpart Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan during his visit to Pakistan for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) ministerial conference. [IS-led protests against Rajnath Singh in Pakistan]

Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi informed this at a press meet on Thursday (Aug 4). He also said that India has placed some proposals besides offering technical help to the Saarc Terrorist Offences Monitoring Desk. [Rajnath Singh faces threat from 4 terrorist outfits]

Mehrishi also said that Singh will meet Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif along with his Saarc counterparts during this visit. [Rajnath to raise border terror at Saarc talks]

Singh reached Islamabad on Wednesday (aug 3) and was taken to his hotel here, which is also the venue for the meeting, in a helicopter amid a strong security. Singh's visit has been slammed by Syed Salahuddin of the Hizbul Mujahideen and Hafiz Saeed of Lashkar-e-Taiba as they threatened big protests against the "atrocities" in Kashmir and the killing of militant Burhan Wani.

Violence has marred the border state over the past few weeks with the protesters clashing against the security forces, taking a heavy toll.

Pak PM raises Kashmir issue

Sharif also raised the Kashmir issue on the eve of the conference, saying it was "witnessing a new wave of freedom movement". He also directed his country's diplomats to apprise the world that Kashmir is not India's "internal matter".

Oneindia News