Sushma, Aziz to hold first talks since Pathankot terror attacks

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Pakistan Prime Minister's Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz will hold bilateral talks on Thursday. The meeting comes on the sidelines of 37th SAARC summit in Pokhara, Nepal.

It's the first official engagement between India and Pakistan after Pathankot terror attack.

Aziz is expected to extend invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the SAARC summit in Islamabad in late 2016.

During the meeting, Swaraj is expected to nudge Pakistan to take action against the perpetrators of the Pathankot airbase attack, which came days after Modi's surprise visit to Lahore on December 25, 2015 to attend the 66th birthday of his counterpart Nawaz Sharif.

The duo were also seen talking on Wednesday evening at the SAARC meet for over 90 minutes.

Though details of their discussion was not known, Indian officials described it as a "social chitchat" between the ministers who were seated alongside.

This is the second time the two ministers are meeting since December 2015 when Swaraj had travelled to Islamabad for a multilateral meeting and had also held extensive bilateral talks with Aziz after which both countries announced resumption of the comprehensive bilateral dialogue.

The 37th SAARC Council of Ministers meeting began on Wednesday after which she will also hold bilateral talks with her counterparts from several countries.

SAARC member states include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.