Indian, Pak ministers to review LoC situation

External affairs minister Salman Khurshid and his Pakistani counterpart Sartaj Aziz will review the situation along the Line of Control (LoC) as New Delhi reiterated that any progress in bilateral engagement with Islamabad will depend on peace and tranquility on the border.

External affairs minister Salman Khurshid and his Pakistani counterpart Sartaj Aziz will review the situation along the Line of Control (LoC) as New Delhi reiterated that any progress in bilateral engagement with Islamabad will depend on peace and tranquility on the border.

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Aziz has also sought an appointment with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. “One outcome (from the two PM meeting) was the precondition for moving ahead in our bilateral engagement which was peace and tranquility on the LoC”, an MEA spokesperson said.

“So, they (foreign ministers) will assess where they have moved on since then. Does it require anything further? That will basically be the basis for further discussion,” the spokesperson said.

Aziz is travelling to India to attend the ASEM (Asia- Europe) Foreign Ministers meet in Gurgaon, in the national capital region, and he will hold a bilateral meeting with Khurshid on the sidelines of the event.

India is expected to convey its concerns to Aziz over the series of ceasefire violations by Pakistan’s army. The PM has already expressed his “disappointment” with Nawaz Sharif in New York and agreed that peace and tranquility should be maintained on LoC as well as the International Border (IB).