New Delhi, Feb 13 (IANS) Pakistan would be among the countries which Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar would visit as part of his tour of SAARC nations during which he would utilize the opportunity to discuss "bilateral issues", India's external affairs ministry said Friday.
"Cricket is a metaphor for connectivity in the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries and Prime Minister Narendra Modi practices multi-layered diplomacy," ministry of external affairs spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin told the media here.
"When Indian and Pakistan leaders talk, they will utilize the opportunity to talk about other issues as well. A lot of issues come up but cricket is the main dish," he said.
India had called off foreign secretary-level talks last year in August after Pakistani High Commissioner Abdul Basit decided to meet leaders of the separatist Hurriyat days ahead of the talks.
Modi Friday spoke to his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, along with leaders of Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, to convey his best wishes for their teams who are participating in the ICC cricket World Cup 2015.
The prime minister informed Sharif about India's initiative to send the foreign secretary on a "SAARC yatra" or tour of South Asian countries, including Pakistan.
Akbaruddin said Jaishankar would also utilize the opportunity to talk about bilateral issues.
"We will try and have bilateral agenda with all SAARC countries within the short timea," he said even as he refused to give a time-frame for the visit.
The MEA spokesperson said the visit to Pakistan was not likely to be in the next two weeks.
Modi tweeted Friday that he had spoken to Sharif and the heads of other SAARC countries whose teams are playing in the World Cup to wish them luck.
"Spoke to President @ashrafghani, PM Sheikh Hasina, PM Nawaz Sharif and President Sirisena. Conveyed my best wishes for the Cricket World Cup," he tweeted.
India take on Pakistan in their first World Cup 2015 match in Adelaide Sunday.
NEET Exam Pattern 2022: What will be the pattern of NEET-UG, how many questions will come, and how much time will be available, know here
NEET Exam Pattern 2022: National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, Graduation i.e. NEET UG 2022 is scheduled to be conducted on July 17, 2022, by the National Testing Agency (NTA). According to the
CLAT Registration 2023: Today is the last day for CLAT application, see exam date here
CLAT 2023: The Consortium of National Law Universities has extended the registration deadline for the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT 2023) exam. Earlier this deadline was to end on November 13, which
Supreme Court: SC refuses to hear the case of VIP darshan in the temple, the court said- this is a policy matter, but...
The Supreme Court refused to hear a petition challenging the 'VIP' darshan facility in temples in India.
Attack on Hindu's in Bangladesh: Temple and pandals targeted during Durga Puja, three killed in firing
The news of atrocities on Hindu minorities has come to the fore once again in Bangladesh. The latest case is of Chandpur district where a mob of extremists attacked a Hindu temple after spreading
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman can tell the breakup of 20 lakh crore package for four days, first announcement at 4 pm
Mumbai. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to give a complete breakup of the Rs 20 lakh crore Covid-19 relief package by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from today. It is reported that
Why has the Taliban government become a noose for Pakistan?
The Taliban's interim government has been formed in Afghanistan, but still, the biggest challenge for it is to gain international recognition.
Twitter Down: When Twitter was down, users said - the effect of layoffs started
A lot has been happening in the Twitter office for the past two weeks. As soon as Elon Musk became the owner, many big people including CEO Parag Agarwal were fired and since then layoffs are going
Common Eligibility Test (CET): What is it, how will it happen and what will it change?
The Central Government has decided to set up a National Recruitment Agency for admission in all government sector jobs last Wednesday.
Pushpa 2 Advance Booking: 'Pushpa 2' created history in booking, made a huge collection, broke the pride of RRR too
The most awaited film of the year 2024 'Pushpa 2: The Rule' is just a few hours away from being released in theaters. At the same time, such a tremendous craze of this movie is being seen that it has
Mizoram: CM advised to congress worker 'Be silent on the liquor policy'
On friday, In Aizwal CM said in weekly political session at congress bhavan that “Prohibition has already been lifted, so from now on we should remain silent on the issue. Let it go on as it is
