Islamabad (Pakistan) Aug. 3 : India's Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday arrived in Islamabad to attend the seventh SAARC Home/Interior Ministers meeting, where he is expected to raise the issue of Pakistan's support to terror groups operating in India and ask for check on the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and other groups based in the country.
Prior to his departure, Singh tweeted, "Looking forward to underscore the imperative of meaningful cooperation within the region against terrorism and organised crime." Singh upon arrival here met Additional Secretary in Pakistan's Interior Ministry Amir Ahmed.
The visiting Home Minister is also likely to raise the issue of fake Indian currency notes being circulated at the behest of Pakistani agencies.
Apart from terrorism, other key issues likely to be discussed include liberalisation of visa, illegal trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and small arms and how to make coordinated and concerted efforts to combat such menace.
The External Affairs Ministry has made it clear that there will be no bilateral meeting between the Home Minister and Pakistani leaders.
The visit comes in the backdrop of growing strain in the Indo-Pak ties after Pakistan and its Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif made provocative statements on the Kashmir situation in the wake of a militant's killing on the 8th of last month.
Earlier in the day, Syed Salahudeen, one of the most wanted terrorists in the National Investigation Agency's (NIA) list and chief of united Jihad Council, took to the streets in Islamabad and staged a protest against Singh's visit.
Holding Singh responsible for the killings of his area commander Burhan Wani and Kashmiri protesters, Salahudeen, also head of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, criticised the Pakistan Government for welcoming the Indian Home Minister.
"It amounts to rubbing salt on the wounds of the Kashmiri people," he said. He, however, warned that until the Kashmir Valley was free from the presence of Indian forces, jihad in Kashmir would continue.
Source: ANI
