Though Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s adviser on foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz is attending the ministerial meeting of the Heart of Asia grouping, sources say that it is unlikely he would hold a bilateral meeting. Pakistan officials said India as the host country should make the request for a bilateral meeting on the sidelines. That in effect left no side making a request for a bilateral meeting so far. The last two Heart of Asia meets -- December 2015 in Islamabad and April 2016 in New Delhi -- had foreign ministers and foreign secretaries of both India and Pakistan holding discussions on the sidelines. However, the foreign secretaries did meet during the April 2016 conference, at least keeping the channels of communication open.

Source: Hindustan Times November 29, 2016 13:52 UTC