Pakistan to host Hurriyat leaders on Eid in New Delhi

The invite from the Pakistan High Commission comes after it reportedly withdrew an earlier invitation on July 4

The All Parties Hurriyat Conference claimed on Monday it has been invited by the Pakistan high commission in New Delhi for Eid Milan on July 21. 

The invite for Eid Milan comes after the high commission withdrew an earlier invitation for Iftar on July 4. According to reports, the invitation was withdrawn in light of a meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in Ufa on the sidelines of the SCO summit.

Read: Nawaz-Modi meet-up: India reluctant to revive composite dialogue

Further, the reports added Hurriyat leaders were told that the Iftar was postponed owing to a deadly heatwave in Karachi which claimed over 1,000 lives.

The meeting of the two premiers has provided a much-needed ice-breaker in Pakistan, India talks. In August 2014, India called off secretary-level talks with Pakistan following a meeting between Pakistani High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit and Hurriyat leaders from Kashmir.

Read: Salman Khurshid to Modi: Don't expect dramatic results from Pakistan visit

Further, an invitation to leaders of Kashmiri separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference, an umbrella of 26 parties from the disputed Himalayan state, to a Pakistan Day reception this year held by Basit turned into a media referendum on the Indian approach to resuming stalled dialogue with Pakistan.

Read: Kashmir issue to be tackled through back-channel diplomacy: Aziz

The government has said PM Nawaz and Modi decided to resolve the longstanding disputes of Kashmir, Siachen, and Sir Creek through ‘back-channel diplomacy’during their Russia meeting.

The article originally appeared on The Times of India