Pakistan minister calls off India visit over LoC tension

Pakistan’s Commerce Minister Amin Fahim was to attend a business meet to be held on January 27-29 in Agra city.

Islamabad: Pakistan’s Commerce Minister Amin Fahim has called off his scheduled visit to India in the wake of prevailing tensions between the two countries over violations along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir region, online news agency reported on Sunday.

Fahim was to attend a business meet to be held on January 27-29 in Agra city at the invitation of Indian Commerce Minister Anand Sharma. Though the minister said he decided against travelling to India due to clash of dates of the business meet and a scheduled meet as a team member with Pakistan-born Canadian cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri, official sources said Fahim`s decision was linked to the spike in tensions between India and Pakistan, the report added. Border tensions between India and Pakistan have risen sharply since the January 06 death of a Pakistani soldier in alleged firing by Indian forces along the LoC. The situation worsened after two Indian soldiers were beheaded by Pakistani troops who breached the LoC and entered Jammu and Kashmir`s Poonch district on January 08. IANS