PAKISTAN

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tuesday accepted Indian demand to drop officials of interior and water & power ministries by including two more officials of the foreign ministry in its 8-member team, which will head to New Dehli for foreign secretary-level talks.

According to sources, India forced Islamabad to exclude officials of interior and water & power ministries from the representative delegation.

As a result, Pakistan decided not to send the members of these two ministries on Indian insistence, sources say.

The demand came just a day before the resumption of foreign secretary level talks in New Dehli.

It is feared that this move may hamper the bilateral talks even before its resumption.

The delegation that includes the Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir, Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit and seven other members will depart for Delhi on Wednesday.

On the other hand, Spokesman Basit denied that India had made any such demand about change of the delegation members.

He said that it is same the 8-member team, which is scheduled to visit New Delhi from the first place.

However, sources told Geo correspondent that it was decided on Tuesday’s meeting that eight-member team comprised of six officials of foreign ministry and two members of interior and water ministries. But due to the Indian demand, two more members of foreign ministry has been replaced by interior and water ministries’ officials.