Indian foreign affairs minister Sushma Swaraj will visit Pakistan on Tuesday for the 'Heart of Asia 5th Ministerial Meeting on Afghanistan' in Islamabad, but all eyes will be on her meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and with his Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on the sidelines of the event.
Swaraj's Pakistan visit will come on a positive note after a secret meeting between Indian and Pakistani NSAs in Bangkok on Sunday, with which the neighbouring countries crossed the main hurdles for Indo-Pak talks since last year - discussion on Kashmir and meeting of Pakistani officials with Hurriyat separatists.
NSA talks scheduled to be held in Delhi in August had been called off at the last minute after a war of words between Swaraj and Aziz, as the latter insisted on meeting with Kashmiri separatists and wanted the Kashmir issue to be on the table for discussion, which India rejected.
However, there seemed to be a thaw in ties following Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's handshake with Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif in Paris on the sidelines of the climate summit.
"Looking forward to meeting Sushma Swaraj, talks are the only solution," Sartaj Aziz told the Pakistani media on Monday after the Indian external affairs ministry confirmed Sushma Swaraj's visit.
Swaraj will also call on Sharif, according to reports, and it will mark the first ministerial-level visit to Pakistan by the Modi government that came to power last year.
The Heart of Asia conference on Afghanistan will see leaders of 27 countries converge in Islamabad between 8 and 10 December.
Live Streaming, live updates
You can watch Sushma Swaraj lead the Indian delegation in Pakistan live through the External Affairs ministry's official YouTube channel.
You can also get live updates of the visit through the Twitter account of the MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup as well as the personal account of Sushma Swaraj.
