The high commissioners of Pakistan and India, who were called back by their relevant governments in the wake of recent escalation following the Pulwama attack, are set to resume duties on Saturday (today), in what appears to be yet another sign of de-escalation between the South Asian neighbours.
Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India Sohail Mahmood met Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday at the PM Office, the Foreign Office said in a statement. According to the Foreign Office, Mahmood took Prime Minister Khan’s advice on Pak-India relations in the wake of recent escalation between the two countries before returning to New Delhi to resume his duty.
Indian High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria, who was called back after the Pulwama attack, would also be returning to Islamabad on Saturday (today), said India’s External Affairs Ministry in a statement on Friday.
The move comes a week after Pakistan announced a series of steps including sending its envoy back to New Delhi to defuse the crises triggered after the February 14 suicide attack in Indian-held Kashmir that led to a military standoff between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. The timing of the return of two envoys suggests a coordinated move both by Islamabad and New Delhi, renewing hopes of possible thaw in ties between the two neighbours
Another positive indicator of de-escalation in tensions is that the two countries have decided to meet next week on the Kartarpur Corridor initiative. Pakistani delegation will meet the Indian officials at Wagha-Attari border on the Indian side to finalise the draft agreement on the Kartarpur Corridor on March 14.
Published in Daily Times, March 9th 2019.
