Dhaka, Sept 10: Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri arrived today to prepare for the delayed summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) in his country and voiced optimism for the forum's future. "There has been positive indications from India and I am very hopeful of Saarc's future," he told reporters on arrival in Dhaka.
Kasuri is expected to formally invite Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khaleda Zia to the summit.
He is also scheduled to hold talks with Foreign Minister Morshed Khan today. While in Dhaka, Kasuri said he would hold talks with representatives of Biharis, Urdu-speaking people in Bangladesh stranded since independence from Pakistan.
They have been demanding to meet Kasuri to tell him of their "miserable" lives in relief camps, according to community leader Nasir Khan who led a march on Sunday in Dhaka.
Around 250,000 Biharis live in Bangladeshi camps despite repeated attempts by Dhaka and Islamabad to resolve their status. Foreign ministry officials in Dhaka said the Pakistani minister was likely to meet the main opposition Awami League leader Sheikh Hasina Wajed before leaving for Nepal on Friday. Bureau Report