India trying to dissuade Indonesian president from visiting Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s visit to Pakistan immediately after his attendance as chief guest on India’s Republic Day on the 26th of this month, has irked India which is trying to dissuade the visiting dignitary from going to Pakistan.

Reports suggest the Indonesian president has tagged Pakistan trip after India’s Republic Day visit. The possible plan has reportedly made New Delhi dissuade Prabowo to skip Pakistan from his current itinerary. India has long pushed for de-hyphenating Pakistan from its bilateral ties with other countries. According to an unwritten protocol, India has foreign delegations not to travel to India from Pakistan, or India to Pakistan. On the other hand, Pakistan has already started its preparations to host Prabowo. The Indonesian president will likely begin his three-day official visit to Pakistan on January 26. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the visit in a federal cabinet meeting last week and has set up a committee, headed by Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal Chaudhary, to finalise all proposals and actions ahead of the Indonesian leader’s visit.