Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will travel to Pakistan to attend the two-day SAARC Home Interior/Home Ministers’ conference beginning August 3.In addition to attending the SAARC meet, Mr Singh is likely to have bilateral meetings with his counterparts from other SAARC member-countries, including Pakistan’s Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Government sources said.
He will be accompanied by Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and several other senior officers of the Home Ministry.
During his talks with the Pakistani leadership as well as in his address to the conference, Mr Singh is likely to raise his voice against terrorism, illegal trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and small arms and how to make coordinated and concerted efforts to combat such menace.
The Home Minister-level meeting is likely to also focus on strengthening networking among police authorities of SAARC member-countries and also enhancing information-sharing among law enforcement agencies.
The last meeting of SAARC Interior/Home Ministers’ conference was held in Kathmandu in 2014. This would be the first ministerial level visit to Pakistan from India after the Pathankot airbase terrorist attack, which had almost derailed the peace process between the two neighbours. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had visited Islamabad on December 8-9 to attend Heart of Asia Conference.
