Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Pakistan for the SAARC summit in November. (File)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is looking forward to visiting Pakistan in November for the SAARC Summit, India's High Commissioner said in comments published on Tuesday. New Delhi said that such announcements "are not made so far in advance".
At an event in Karachi on Monday, Indian envoy Gautam Bambawale had also stressed that this is the position "as of today" and he does not know how the situation will develop in the coming days.
"I can't say about the future but as of today Prime Minister Modi is looking forward to visiting Islamabad for the SAARC summit in November," Mr Bambawale said.
Top officials in Delhi have told NDTV that no final decision has been taken yet on the Prime Minister's visit, given the tension with Islamabad, particularly over the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
Ties between the neighbours have worsened with New Delhi accusing Pakistan of inciting protests in Kashmir after the 8 July shooting of terrorist Burhan Wani, who was lionized by Islamabad as a martyr. 70 people have died and more than 10,000 left injured by the worst unrest in Kashmir in six years.
Mr Bambawale said while India and Pakistan must discuss the entire range of issues, they must keep their focus on economy which he described as a "low-hanging fruit".
He admitted that trust and confidence was lacking in relations between New Delhi and Islamabad.
The Indian envoy said that even when tensions were high between the two countries, there had been contacts at the operational level.