Sushma Swaraj may meet her Pakistani counterpart in UN General Assembly session next month

Even as the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that bilateral meetings' schedule for Minister Sushma Swaraj, during her visit to New York, was still being prepared, Pakistani diplomatic sources said that a possible meeting with her new Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi was being worked out.

Both the foreign ministers will be in the US on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly session next month. This could be the first ministerial-level bilateral meeting since 2016, when Swaraj met her then counterpart Sartaj Aziz in Nepal. "Such a meeting (between Swaraj and Qureshi) is possible, but no decision (has been taken) yet," Dawn news quoted a senior Pakistani diplomat in the US as saying.

In a letter to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had expressed India's resolve to build good neighbourly relations between the two countries. In July, Modi had telephoned Khan and congratulated him on his party's victory in the general elections and expressed hope that both the countries will work to open a new chapter in bilateral ties.

Swaraj will address the annual high UNGA session on September 29. While new PM Imran Khan's office has made it clear that he will not travel abroad atleast for the next few months as part of austerity drive, several Pakistani diplomats and political commentators have urged him to reconsider the decision. They feel Khan's presence in New York will add a new dimension to Pakistan's efforts to end its diplomatic isolation. Dawn news, quoting diplomatic sources in Washington, said Islamabad would like to see how productive this meeting could be, particularly because India has already said that it is not ready to resume bilateral or formal talks with Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari has said that the incumbent government in Islamabad is preparing a proposal to resolve the Kashmir issue. Mazari, made the statement during a talk hosted by Pakistan-based journalist Nasim Zehra. "The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government will prepare a proposal on resolving the Kashmir conflict within one week and present it in the cabinet. They will also discuss the issue with other stakeholders," said Mazari, adding, "The proposal is almost ready and we hope that it is considered soon."