Modi to visit Pak for SAARC meet next year: Swaraj

The disclosure of Modi’s visit was made by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj here in yet another indicator of a positive turn in bilateral ties after recent chill. “He will be coming,” Swaraj told reporters when asked if Modi will visit Pakistan to attend the Summit. Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the last Indian PM to visit Pakistan who had come here in January 2004 and attended the SAARC summit besides holding talks with then Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf. Vajpayee’s successor Manmohan Singh did not undertake any visit to Pakistan despite his desire to do so. Officials said Modi’s commitment to attend the SAARC Summit was reflected in the Ufa joint statement. Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif had invited Modi for the SAARC Summit when they met for a bilateral meeting in the Russian city of Ufa in July.

The meeting of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is slated to be held in Pakistan in September next year. Sharif had attended Modi’s swearing-in ceremony in May 2014 which generated goodwill.