Pakistan envoy to New Delhi meets Indian FM Sushma Swaraj: report

Published
95

In the first high-level contact between the two countries in months, the newly-appointed Pakistan High Commissioner to India Sohail Mahmood met Indian Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj earlier this week, the Times of India reported.

Issues concerning cross-border terrorism, including the Mumbai and Pathankot attacks, came under discussion during the meeting, TOI quoted official sources as saying.

Swaraj pressed on the Pakistani envoy to review stance on Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav whose death sentence has been challenged by India in the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

The Indian government wants all charges against Jadhav to be dropped and him to be sent back to India for any progress in bilateral relations between the two neighbours, the report said.

Mahmood is also expected to meet Ajit Doval, National Security Adviser to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indian Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

Days after the meeting, on the occasion of Diwali, Swaraj announced medical visas for deserving Pakistanis whose applications had been pending with India.

Pakistan's Foreign Office has yet to confirm or deny reports of the meeting.

Mahmood took charge as the Pakistani High Commissioner to India in August this year, after Abdul Basit retired from the position.

Relations between the two nuclear nations have been bitter for over a year now, with both trading barbs at the recent UN General Assembly meeting.

Sushma Swaraj recently termed Pakistan "the export factory of terror" while Pakistan's Permanent Representative to UN Maleeha Lodhi called India the "mother of terrorism in South Asia" during sessions of the United Nations General Assembly.

Opinion

Editorial

Muddled hierarchy
Updated 15 Nov, 2026

Muddled hierarchy

The jurisdiction of the two courts and a mechanism for settling disputes between them should be spelt out in law, not left to judges to fight over.
Growing crisis
15 Nov, 2026

Growing crisis

AN emergency can be judged by the speed with which it draws an effective response. The National Population Council’s...
Organised rackets
15 Nov, 2026

Organised rackets

ON the International Day against Transnational Organised Crime, observed today, Pakistan finds itself in a tight...
Referendum talk
Updated 14 Nov, 2026

Referendum talk

Unless the PPP is deliberately using Sindh as a bargaining chip, it should issue a clarification with a clear, consistent position on new administrative units, not one tailored to protect its home turf.
Mineral wealth
Updated 14 Nov, 2026

Mineral wealth

Minerals should not be presented as a solution to Pakistan’s long-term economic difficulties. The aim should be to build an industrial base rather than export raw materials.
Late diagnosis
14 Nov, 2026

Late diagnosis

AS we mark World Diabetes Day today, Pakistan faces a troubling question: how many people are living with diabetes...