IN WHAT amounts to a significant diplomatic outreach to Pakistan, India has invited its Commerce Minister, Pervaiz Malik, to participate in the informal WTO ministerial meeting taking place in Delhi on March 19-20. Diplomatic sources from India and Pakistan have confirmed that the two sides have decided to undertake an exchange of all their prisoners in their respective jails. The invitation to the Pakistani Commerce Minister should be seen in that light, diplomatic sources said. Clearly, as the NDA government enters the final year of its term in office, a re-evaluation of its Pakistan foreign policy seems to be on the cards. The government has made it clear that the Prime Minister’s participation in the SAARC summit in Pakistan later this year will be dependent on the action Islamabad takes against those accused in the Mumbai attacks.

Source: Indian Express February 25, 2018 23:26 UTC