FM: Pakistan Will Send Envoy Back to India amid «De-Escalating» Tensions

By Staff, Agencies

Islamabad will return its ambassador to New Delhi as tensions “appear to be de-escalating,” Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry announced. The step comes after both countries appeared to be on the brink of all-out war.

“Pakistan has further increased diplomatic efforts and we have decided to send back the Pakistani high commissioner to New Delhi,” Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told media on Wednesday. “This is a positive development,” he said.

In a bid to improve bilateral ties, the Pakistani delegation is set to visit New Delhi to hold talks over the Kartarpur Corridor, which will allow Sikh pilgrims from India to visit the Gurdwara in Kartarpur, Pakistan without a visa.

The Pakistani foreign minister also thanked his counterparts in China, Russia, Turkey, UAE, Jordan, and the US for their role in calming recent tensions between India and Pakistan.

The nuclear-armed neighbors found themselves on the brink of war last month when Indian forces conducted an air raid against “a terrorist camp” in Pakistani territory. The strikes came in response to a suicide attack on an Indian police convoy in the disputed Kashmir region on February 14.

In retaliation, Islamabad aimed at targets in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir. In another air encounter, each nation lost at least one fighter jet, with Pakistan capturing an Indian pilot, who was released two days later.