Kasuri in Delhi on Aiyar’s invite; to lunch with Pranab

Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, who arrived on a “private visit” here this evening...

Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, who arrived on a “private visit” here this evening, will meet External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday. He is also expected to hold parleys with other leaders including former prime minister I K Gujral, former foreign minister K Natwar Singh and Yashwant Sinha.

Though Kasuri’s luncheon meeting with Mukherjee at Hyderabad House on Monday is being billed as “unofficial”, sources said both leaders are expected to discuss some “important issues” too.

Kasuri, who is in India to attend the wedding of Union Panchayati Raj Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar’s daughter on November 26, is however, accompanied by Jalil Abbas Jilani, the Director General of South Asia in the Pakistan Foreign Ministry, signaling that the visit also means some official business.

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Foreign ministers of both countries are meeting after over a year. The last meeting was between Kasuri and former Foreign Minister K Natwar Singh in Islamabad in October last year. The talks on Monday would come two weeks after the foreign secretary level talks, where plans to set up a joint anti-terror mechanism were finalised.

Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapakse, former Sri Lankan prime minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike and Leader of Opposition in Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremasinghe will also be attending the wedding of Aiyar’s daughter.