ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister's Adviser on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz on Friday met with Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, DawnNews reported.

Aziz is leading the Pakistani delegation to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in the Kyrgyz capital.

The two reportedly discussed matters relating to the Line of Control (LoC), the heavily-militarised de facto border dividing the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir between India and Pakistan, and held talks on addressing reservations and security concerns of both countries.

The top foreign policy officials also discussed a meeting likely to take place on September 29 between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Prime Minister Sharif will be in New York from September 22 to 29 and is likely to meet a number of world leaders, including US President Barack Obama, French President François Hollande, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. He will address the UN session on September 26.

While the two sides have been saying that there was no set agenda for today’s Bishkek meeting described by the Indian foreign minister as “informal”, they may have brought Pakistan and India closer to finalising the date for the Sharif-Singh interaction.

Opinion

Editorial

Exit strategy
Updated 18 Mar, 2026

Exit strategy

MOST members of the international community, particularly states in the greater Middle East, are gravely concerned...
Unsafe trains
18 Mar, 2026

Unsafe trains

SUNDAY’S accident involving the Shalimar Express has once again brought into sharp focus the deep structural and...
Disappointment in Dhaka
18 Mar, 2026

Disappointment in Dhaka

FOR a side looking for lift-off after a disappointing T20 World Cup, it was despair for Shaheen Shah Afridi’s ...
Missing in action
17 Mar, 2026

Missing in action

NOT exactly known for playing a proactive role in protecting the interests of Muslim nations and populations...
Risk to stability
Updated 17 Mar, 2026

Risk to stability

THE risks to Pakistan’s fragile economic recovery from the US-Israel war on Iran cannot be dismissed. Yet the...
Enrolment push
17 Mar, 2026

Enrolment push

THE federal government has embarked upon the welcome initiative to enrol 25,000 out-of-school children in Islamabad...