Punjab CM likely to visit Indian shrine in January

In another apparent sign of thawing relations between India and Pakistan, PM Nawaz Sharif’s brother and chief minister of Punjab province, Shahbaz Sharif, is likely to visit India next month.

Both sides are initiating measures to facilitate meetings of the younger Sharif with Indian leaders, including PM Narendra Modi, in the last week of January, The Times of India reported.

Shahbaz has reportedly been invited by the management of the Nizamuddin Auliya shrine to take part in the annual Urs of the 13th century Sufi saint, whose life epitomised peace and goodwill. While the Punjab CM was said to have accepted the invite, both countries are looking to use the opportunity to ramp up bilateral engagements.

Facilitation of religious tourism between the two countries has been discussed before in a statement issued after Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj’s recent visit to Islamabad and also in the joint statement issued in July after a meeting between the premiers of the two countries in the Russian city of Ufa.

The visit might be used by both countries to expand the ambit of the composite dialogue process, which has been resumed under the new name of “Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue”.

Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry will also visit New Delhi next month for a meeting with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar. The two officials are likely work out the modalities and schedule of the meetings under the comprehensive dialogue, including peace and security, confidence-building measures, Jammu and Kashmir, Siachen, Sir Creek, Wullar Barrage and Tulbul navigation project, economic and commercial cooperation, counterterrorism, narcotics control, humanitarian issues and people-to-people exchanges apart from religious tourism.

The original composite dialogue, which was divided into right parts, did not mention humanitarian issues and religious tourism.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 21^st,  2015.