Signalling a major shift in its position on talks with Pakistan on the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), India has accepted an invitation to attend the next meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) to be held in Lahore in March, various sources confirmed to The Hindu . According to officials privy to the development, the move came after two months of diplomatic negotiations, with World Bank officials playing mediator in encouraging Pakistan to extend the invitation and for India to accept. The news closely follows the visit of World Bank Chief Executive Officer Kristalina Georgieva to Delhi where she met with Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, weeks after her visit in January to Islamabad, where she met Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. At the time, tensions with Pakistan were high, as the government considered all retaliatory measures after the Army camp attack in which 19 soldiers were killed. (With inputs from Arun S)

Source: The Hindu March 02, 2017 21:11 UTC