Islamabad: The strain in India-Pakistan ties was sharply evident today as Home Minister Rajnath Singh met his Pakistani counterpart Nisar Ali Khan for the first time at a SAARC conference. The two barely shook hands.
The Pakistani minister was receiving ministers at the entrance of the Serena Hotel when the two came face to face. The leaders barely touched their hands - not even a formal handshake - before Mr Singh moved towards the meeting hall.
Members of the Indian media were not allowed to photograph the moment and were kept at a distance by Pakistani officials, which led to a verbal clash between a senior Indian official and a Pakistani.
Mr Singh arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday amid anti-India protests that have featured terrorists like 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed of the Lashkar e Taiba, who roams free in Pakistan.
Mr Singh will meet Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif along with leaders from other countries, but there will be no bilateral meeting with the Pakistani home minister.
Mr Sharif made more provocative statements on Kashmir as Mr Singh landed and rode a chopper to his hotel in the city.
At a rally in Lahore, Hafiz Saeed lashed out at Pakistan government's decision to "welcome" Mr Singh.
While Saeed was part of protests in Lahore, the wife of Yasin Malik of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front joined a hunger strike in Islamabad. In protests on Monday, Syed Salahuddin of the terror group Hizbul Mujahideen had warned the Pakistan government against welcoming Mr Singh.
Rajnath Singh's helicopter ride within the city was part of Islamabad's plan for "presidential-level" security after New Delhi, responding to the protest threats, said the home minister's security is the "host country's responsibility".
The Pakistani minister was receiving ministers at the entrance of the Serena Hotel when the two came face to face. The leaders barely touched their hands - not even a formal handshake - before Mr Singh moved towards the meeting hall.
Members of the Indian media were not allowed to photograph the moment and were kept at a distance by Pakistani officials, which led to a verbal clash between a senior Indian official and a Pakistani.
Mr Singh will meet Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif along with leaders from other countries, but there will be no bilateral meeting with the Pakistani home minister.
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At a rally in Lahore, Hafiz Saeed lashed out at Pakistan government's decision to "welcome" Mr Singh.
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Rajnath Singh's helicopter ride within the city was part of Islamabad's plan for "presidential-level" security after New Delhi, responding to the protest threats, said the home minister's security is the "host country's responsibility".
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