ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has said a much-talked about meeting of the foreign ministers of Pakistan and India in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on the sidelines of a regional conference on Afghanistan, had not been scheduled so far.
The Heart of Asia conference, also called the Istanbul Process, is an initiative of the Republic of Afghanistan and the Republic of Turkey, officially launched at a conference hosted in Istanbul on November 2, 2011.
The presence of Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar at the multilateral event have led to speculation in recent days that they might meet on the sidelines, especially in the backdrop of a recent thaw is relations between the two nuclear-armed arch-rivals.
The last meeting between Qureshi and an Indian external affairs minister took place in May 2019 in Bishkek on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting.
Qureshi, who left for Dushanbe today, Monday, told Pakistan's Dawn newspaper on Sunday that “no meeting [with the Indian foreign minister] has been finalised or requested.”
On Monday the FM said he would be meeting the foreign ministers of several countries at the Heart of Asia conference, including Iran, Turkey and Tajikistan, but did not specify if he would meet the Indian FM.
“Here [at the conference] Afghanistan, peace and stability in Afghanistan and its future will be discussed,” the foreign minister said in a video message before departing for Dushanbe. “The role that Pakistan has played for the peace and stability of Afghanistan; I will bring the attention of the foreign ministers of participating countries to that.”
On Sunday, the foreign office said during this year’s Heart of Asia conference Qureshi “would deliver a statement highlighting Pakistan’s positive contributions to the Afghan peace process and its support for Afghanistan’s development and connectivity within the regional framework. On the sidelines of the Conference, the Foreign Minister will hold consultations with key regional and international partners.”
In 2015, Pakistan co-chaired the Heart of Asia conference, along with Afghanistan, and hosted its fifth Ministerial Conference in Islamabad.
No meeting planned with Indian counterpart in Dushanbe, Pakistani foreign minister says
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No meeting planned with Indian counterpart in Dushanbe, Pakistani foreign minister says
- Presence of Pakistani and Indian foreign ministers at Heart of Asia conference led to speculations they might meet on sidelines
- FM Qureshi to meet foreign ministers of Iran, Turkey, Tajikistan and other countries for bilateral meetings on the sidelines
Suicide bomber kills at least five at wedding in northwest Pakistan
- Attack took place in Dera Ismail Khan, targeting the home of a local peace committee member
- Peace committees are community-based groups that report militant activity to security forces
PESHAWAR: A suicide bomber killed at least five people and wounded 10 others after detonating explosives at a wedding ceremony in northwestern Pakistan on Friday, officials said, in an attack that underscored persistent militant violence in the country’s restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The blast took place at the home of a local peace committee member in Dera Ismail Khan district, where guests had gathered for a wedding, police and emergency officials said.
Peace committees in the region are informal, community-based groups that work with security forces to report militant activity and maintain order, making their members frequent targets of attacks.
“A blast occurred near Qureshi Moor in Dera Ismail Khan. Authorities have recovered five bodies and shifted 10 injured to hospital,” said Bilal Faizi, a spokesman for the provincial Rescue 1122 emergency service, adding that the rescue operation was ongoing.
Police said the attacker blew himself up inside the house during the ceremony and that the bomber’s head had been recovered, confirming it was a suicide attack.
Several members of the local peace committee were present at the time, raising fears the toll could rise.
District Police Officer Sajjad Ahmed Sahibzada said authorities had launched an investigation into the incident, while security forces sealed off the area.
Militant attacks have surged in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after the Taliban returned to power in neighboring
Afghanistan in 2021, with the administration in Islamabad blaming the Afghan government for “facilitating” cross-border attacks targeting Pakistani civilians and security forces. However, Kabul has repeatedly denied the allegation.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has also seen frequent intelligence-based operations by security forces targeting suspected militants.
No group has immediately claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack.
