SAARC yatra: Jaishankar meets his Pakistani counterpart

Indian Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar met his Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhary here on Tuesday on the third leg of his four-nation SAARC yatra.

Accompanied by a delegation of diplomats, Jaishankar was welcomed by officials from the foreign ministry as well as those from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, Dawn reported.

The primary agenda for the secretaries' meet is to promote regional connectivity, trade and other bilateral issues.

Jaishankar will also meet Sartaj Aziz, the prime minister's advisor on foreign affairs and national security, and Tariq Fatimi, special assistant to prime minister. Later in the day, he is expected to meet Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Sources said Jaishankar is on a goodwill visit to Pakistan and only South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) related matters would be discussed during his visit.

Jaishankar's visit comes seven months after India called off foreign secretary talks over the Pakistani envoy in New Delhi hobnobbing with Kashmiri separatists.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called up the Pakistan prime minister to wish him for the cricket World Cup and also discussed Jaishankar's visit to Pakistan.

Jaishankar flew in from Dhaka. He was in Bhutan on Sunday on the first leg and will travel to Kabul on Wednesday as part of the SAARC yatra.