Islamabad, December 19
India-Pakistan relations have "greatly improved" and backdoor diplomacy is helping bring the two sides closer, said Sartaj Aziz, adviser to Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Besides confidence-building measures, a "backdoor diplomacy channel was working to bring both the neighbours closer", Aziz was quoted as saying by The News daily.

He further said there was no "more deterioration in relations and things had greatly improved". Aziz made the remarks during a debate in the senate, the upper house of parliament, yesterday.

Basit is Pak envoy to India Pakistan on Thursday appointed Abdul Basit as its new High Commissioner to India Basit, 55, was earlier tipped to take over as Foreign Secretary but the government recently made several changes in proposed appointments The government initially zeroed in on Syed Ibne Abbas as the new envoy to New Delhi but changed its mind as officials felt he was too junior for the crucial posting

His remarks came against the backdrop of a downturn in ties over ceasefire violations and fierce exchanges of fire along the Line of Control. Referring to proposed talks with the Taliban, he said the government was pursuing the option of dialogue as a top priority. If it failed, there were other options that would be exercised as a last resort, he said.

For the first time, the civilian and military leadership tried to forge consensus by taking all stakeholders on board, Aziz said. Speaking on foreign policy issues, he said the perception of Afghanistan as a zone of strategic depth for Pakistan was "totally outdated and needed no attention". — PTI