SAARC Home Ministers' meet in Islamabad postponed

The two-day meeting of SAARC Home Ministers, which was scheduled for February 26-27 in Islamabad and which Home Minister P Chidambaram is to attend, has been postponed, sources said here today.

The decision to postpone the meeting was taken because the dates were not convenient for the Nepalese Home Minister, the sources said. They said Nepal had requested Pakistan to reschedule the meeting to a later date.

According to the sources, new dates for the meeting would be finalised after consultations among the eight member-countries of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation.

The grouping brings together India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Afghanistan.

Mr Chidambaram's proposed visit to Islamabad for the meeting had aroused a lot of interest in both countries because it would have been the first visit by an Indian Minister to Pakistan since the November 26, 2008 terror attack on Mumbai.

India had suspended dialogue with Pakistan after the horrific attack, which had claimed 166 lives and said talks could be resumed only after Pakistan brought the culprits responsible for 26/11 to book and dismantled the terrorist groups operating against India from its soil.

Meanwhile, India has proposed Foreign Secretary-level talks between the two countries and the dates for the meeting are currently being discussed between the two sides.

The visit to Islamabad will give Mr Chidambaram an opportunity to meet his Pakistani counterpart Rehman Malik and get a first-hand update on the progress that Pakistani investigators have made in the 26/11 investigations.

NNN