Advisor to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz will attend the two-day Heart of Asia Conference beginning in Amritsar from Saturday.
The conference, taking place in Amritsar on December 3 and 4, comes against the backdrop of simmering tensions between the nuclear-tipped arch-rivals.
While Pakistan is open for any constructive engagement at the sidelines of the conference with India, officials explained that Pakistan decided to go to Amritsar to convey a clear message to the outside world that it was Delhi, not Islamabad, which was creating impediments in the way of regional peace.
Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria in a weekly press briefing said Pakistan would attend the Heart of Asia Conference due to its commitment to Afghanistan’s peace and stability.
The spokesman said the Heart of Asia Conference would follow previous agenda and every country has its own share of bringing stability in Afghanistan. He said Pakistan’s participation means its commitment for peace and stability in Afghanistan.
Initially, it was thought that Pakistan might boycott the regional grouping after India stayed away from the Saarc summit scheduled to be held in Islamabad in November.
The other reason that prompted the government to send the adviser to India was to not allow any opportunity to India to score political points against Pakistan.