Khurshid to meet Sartaj Aziz today, LoC in focus

External affairs minister Salman Khurshid will meet Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif’s advisor Sartaj Aziz on the sidelines of the ASEM here on Tuesday even as the Centre countered BJP’s criticism that it had committed a “diplomatic blunder” by allowing the visiting dignitary to meet Kashmiri separatists on Indian soil, saying such meetings had taken place even during the NDA regime.

External affairs minister Salman Khurshid will meet Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif’s advisor Sartaj Aziz on the sidelines of the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) here on Tuesday even as the Centre countered BJP’s criticism that it had committed a “diplomatic blunder” by allowing the visiting dignitary to meet Kashmiri separatists on Indian soil, saying such meetings had taken place even during the NDA regime.

New Delhi has already set its agenda clear for the meeting, saying peace and tranquility along the Line of Control is a pre-condition for taking the bilateral ties forward.

Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde said Kashmiri separatist leaders have been meeting Pakistani leaders on Indian soil since NDA days when Vajpayee was the PM.