Indian envoy meets Imran Khan; discusses bilateral ties, terrorism

Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Ajay Bisaria on Friday met Prime Minister-in-waiting Imran Khan and the two pushed for the resumption of bilateral talks and the envoy briefed New Delhi's concerns about terrorism, an official said.

The envoy was accompanied by his deputy J.P. Singh.

The meeting with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief took place in the presence of senior party leaders, including former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

The Indian diplomat congratulated Khan for his party's victory in the last month's general elections.

During the meeting, Khan "expressed his grave concerns on the human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir", a PTI spokersperson said.

Khan also hoped that the Saarc leaders' conference will take place in Islamabad soon, he said.

Bisaria, too, hoped that a new chapter in the Pakistan-India relations would begin soon.

During the 30-minute meeting, the High Commissioner briefed the PTI leadership on India's concerns about terrorism and cross-border infiltration.

Bisaria also presented to Khan a cricket bat signed by the members of the Indian national cricket team.

In July, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had telephoned Imran Khan, saying his country was ready to enter a new era of relations with Pakistan.

Imran Khan will take oath as Prime Minister on August 18, Senator Faisal Javed said on Friday.

Javed also confirmed that three former Indian cricketers -- Kapil Dev, Novjot Singh Sidhu and Sunil Gavaskar -- had been invited to the oath-taking ceremony.

--IANS

ahm/nir