New Delhi: In the midst of polemical attacks on the Indo-Pak peace initiative, there has been some quiet progress on the diplomatic front in both the countries with Pakistan High Commissioner Aziz Ahmed Khan meeting Commerce Minister Arun Jaitley and also seeking appointments with the top Indian leadership.

This is Khan's first high-level interaction with an Indian leader after he presented credentials since taking charge in July.

New Delhi will also be hosting a three-day SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation) Information Ministers' conference from November 10 in which Pakistan will participate. Other members of SAARC are Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, the Maldives and Sri Lanka.

Khan, who has sought meetings with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani, is scheduled to meet Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi on Monday (November 3) and Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Najma Heptulla on Tuesday (Nov 4), South Block sources said today (Nov 1).

Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan Shiv Shankar Menon has had a meeting with Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri and the Chief Justice of Pakistan.

Menon was also recently given permission to visit Frontier Gandhi Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan's son in Mardan. The Pakistan envoy is also understood to be allowed to move out of Delhi. Movement of Pakistani diplomats had been restricted to the capital after the December 13 attack on Parliament.

Khan discussed with Jaitley issues relating to expanding bilateral trade and bringing down tariff barriers within the SAARC framework, the sources said.

"These meetings are an evidence of the (peace) process moving along," the sources said.

The Pakistan High Commission has also sought appointment with Defence Minister George Fernandes and External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha.

PTI