NEW DELHI – Islamabad sent a four-member team of counter-terrorism andintelligence specialists last week to attend a multilateral meeting in NewDelhi recently, The Indian Express has learnt.

The security and intelligence establishments of the two countries have beenat loggerheads in recent years, especially after the terrorist attacks inPathankot and Uri, and more recently over the death sentence of former Navyofficer Kulbhushan Jadhav, who is in Pakistani jail.

The Pakistani officials, including a colonel from the country’s army, werehosted by deputy NSA Rajinder Khanna — a former chief of R&AW, India’sexternal agency — for a dinner reception, along with other delegates,sources said.

The Pakistan delegation comprised Ahmad Farooq, director general(counter-terrorism) in Pakistan’s foreign ministry; Farhan Zahid, director,National Counter Terrorism Authority ; Col Sajjad Hussein, joint secretary(headquarters); and Adeel Ahmed Khan, director, Shanghai CooperationOrganisation (SCO).

They were in Delhi from January 31 to February 2, and the meeting wasdeliberately kept under wraps at the request of the visiting delegates,sources said.

The quiet meeting on “counter-terrorism” and “security cooperation”, underthe umbrella of SCO, was held in Delhi. Sources said delegates fromPakistan, China, Russia among other countries in the grouping also went toAgra to see the Taj Mahal.

There was “no bilateral meeting” between Indian and Pakistani officials,but the discussions at the grouping were of “substantive nature”, sourcessaid.

“The discussions were largely focused on violent extremism andradicalisation — two of key concerns for the Central Asian countries, alongwith China and Russia,” a source said. “Since India and Pakistan have justentered the grouping, their concerns were not reflected… Chinese andRussian interlocutors are very clear on the fact that they do not want thebilateral issues between India and Pakistan to spill over on SCOdiscussions.”

This was the first such occasion where officials dealing with“counter-terrorism” and “security” issues came to India from Pakistan inthe last two years.