Pakistan awaits Indian confirmation for Sushma Swaraj visit: FO

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday said Pakistan is awaiting confirmation of Indian external affairs minister, Sushma Swaraj's visit to Islamabad to attend a conference in Islamabad.

Briefing the media, the FO spokesman Qazi Khalilullah said Foreign Ministers of China, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Iran and Afghanistan have confirmed their presence at ‘Heart of Asia’ Conference slated to be held in Islamabad on December 7.

However, he said no confirmation of Suhma Swaraj’s visit to Pakistan has so far been made by the Indian authorities.

"The aim of Heart of Asia Conference is to counter the dangers posed by terrorism, drugs, poverty and extremism," he said.

Khalilullah further said the comments of Indian ambassador in Afghanistan on the meeting of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Afghan president Ashraf Ghani are against the diplomatic etiquettes.

"Pakistan expects all the regional countries to support the efforts aimed at Afghan reconciliation process", he said, adding that it is in clash with diplomatic norms for an ambassador to strain bilateral ties between his host and a third country.

Khalilullah said the FO was collecting the details of 5,000 Pakistanis who are in Saudi Arabian prisons. He said 2,340 Pakistanis were arrested for violating Umra and Hajj visas.