Islamabad, Aug 8 (IANS) Two Indian diplomats visited the Parliament Lodge here Sunday and held discussions with a Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) senator despite having no permission or invitation to enter the restricted area, media reports said.


"Two diplomats from the Indian High Commission met Senator, Col (retd) Syed Tahir Hussain Mashadi at the Parliament Lodge and held discussions, though the nature of the discussions was not yet known," the Urdu daily Jang reported Monday, citing reliable sources.

It noted that the Indian diplomats, identified as Suhel Aejaz Khan, counsellor (consular section) and B.S. Pradhan, first secretary (political), had managed to enter the parliament complex, declared as a restricted area by the Islamabad administration, without any problem -- despite their lack of invitation or permission.

Mashadi, who is the chairman of the senate's procedure and privileges committee and member of foreign affairs and Kashmir affairs, sports, interior, defence and defence production committees, confirmed meeting the Indian diplomats but clarified he had not invited them for the meeting.

According to him, the discussions were "informal and non-political in nature".

However, The Nation newspaper cited diplomatic sources as saying that the discussions had centred on the current political situation in restive Karachi in the light of the agreement between the ruling Pakistan Peoples' Party and the MQM on bringing about major administrative changes, including restoration of the local government system.