POKHARA: Indian Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj on Thursday evening held a bilateral meeting with her Pakistani counterpart, Sartaj Aziz, in Pokhara. Aziz, the Foreign Affairs Advisor to the Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif, has been working in the role equivalent to the Foreign Minister in the Sharif government. Aziz said in a press conference after the meeting that he extended an invitation on behalf of his Prime Minister Sharif to Indian PM Narendra Modi for the 19th SAARC Summit to be held in Pakistan in November this year. Swaraj said she happily accepted the invitation. The foreign ministers hoped that prime ministers of two nation would hold bilateral talks on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in the United States on March 31. Meanwhile, Swaraj said they also discussed the probe into a cross-border terror attack on the Indian Air Force base at Pathankot, Punjab on January 2 that claimed the lives of seven Indian security personnel. Pakistan would send a probe team for the task and a joint team would begin investigations on March 28, she added. Foreign/external affairs ministers of eight SAARC member states have gathered in Pokhara to attend the 37th session of the SAARC Council of Ministers concluded in Pokhara today. The meeting between ministers of two historic rivals is considered significant for their bilateral ties in the days to come.

Bilateral after Ministerial! EAM @sushmaswaraj meets with Pakistan Foreign Affairs Adviser Mr Sartaj Aziz pic.twitter.com/oBdy4Yd3LM

• SAARC Summit will now be held in every alternate November
• 37th SAARC Council of Ministers meet ends