New Delhi, September 13
External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid today held an “informal” meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on the margins of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit at Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan.

This was the first top-level interaction between the two countries after the recent tension over the killing of five Indian soldiers on the LoC. Khurshid and Aziz are understood to have discussed the possibility of a meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York.

The meeting is likely to take place on September 29. In a statement later, Khurshid said he had conveyed to Aziz that a possible meeting between the two PMs in New York would require a conducive atmosphere. He said he discussed with his Pakistani interlocutor the ground realities and the need to factor in India’s sensitivities to take bilateral engagements forward.

The Indian minister said he also discussed justice for the victims of the Mumbai terror attack. Aziz conveyed to him that a prosecutor has been appointed and the visit of the judicial commission from Pakistan to India was scheduled for September 23.

“We welcome the step,” Khurshid added. The SCO Summit brings together leaders of Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Currently, India, along with Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan and Mongolia are observers at the SCO. Its three dialogue partners of the grouping are: Sri Lanka, Belarus and Turkey. The SCO members are currently working on modalities for the grouping’s expansion, taking into account administrative, financial and legal issues.

In his address at the summit, Khurshid reiterated that India was ready to play a larger role in the SCO as a full member, once the organisation reached consensus on the expansion process. He said India was increasingly concerned about the security challenges that might emanate from the developing situation in Afghanistan. Khurshid opposed any external military intervention in Syria.