India's home minister to visit Pakistan next week

Amid escalating tensions between two nuclear neighbors - India and Pakistan, India's Home Minister Rajnath Singh will travel to Islamabad next week to attend a two-day South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit, local media reported Thursday.

Singh is scheduled to attend home ministers' conference from Wednesday and will be accompanied by senior officers of his ministry.

According to India's official broadcaster - All India Radio (AIR), the conference will focus on strengthening of network among police authorities of SAARC member -countries and enhancing information-sharing among law enforcement agencies.

Singh's visit had come at a time when the two countries are engaged in a face-off over situation in restive India-controlled Kashmir, which is reeling under intense anti-India protests.

The protests broke out in the region on July 8 after the killing of a top militant commander of Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) Burhan Muzaffar Wani, along with two associates. The 22-year-old Wani was poster boy of HM, region's indigenous militant outfit.

New Delhi accused Islamabad of instigating the ongoing violence that so far has claimed around 50 lives.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif eulogized Wani as a "martyr" and accused New Delhi of using blatant force against Kashmiris. Sharif even stated his country was waiting for Kashmir to become part of Pakistan, a statement sharply reacted by India and described as "delusional though dangerous dream."

Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan, is claimed by both in full. Since their independence from Britain, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir. Endit