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Thursday, November 27, 2025

Former Azad Jammu and Kashmir PM calls on Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Independent Kashmir not possible: PAJKK leader

Sardar Qayoom Khan, a former President and Prime Minister of Pakistan-administered Jammu & Kashmir (PAJK), met with former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in New Delhi on September 22, 2005. 

The meeting was a courtesy call held at Vajpayee's residence, which Sardar Qayoom Khan requested because he was a "big fan" of the former Indian Prime Minister. Khan noted that he had not been able to meet Vajpayee during his 1999 visit to Lahore. 

Key attendees and context of the meeting:

Attendees: Besides Qayoom Khan and Vajpayee, Indian leaders such as Lal Krishna Advani (then BJP president), Jaswant Singh, and Brajesh Mishra were also present.

Context: The meeting occurred while Sardar Qayoom Khan was in New Delhi to participate in "heart-to-heart deliberations" with Kashmiri leaders from the Indian side of the Line of Control, hosted by the Indian Council of World Affairs and the National Panther's Party.

Significance: The meeting was considered a significant diplomatic development, as it was one of the few times major political figures from both sides of the LoC met after several years, as part of broader peace efforts between India and Pakistan. 

Sardar Qayoom Khan was a key figure in the "Intra J&K 'Heart to Heart' Talks" and was the only PAJK leader who had interacted with the BJP leadership, including Vajpayee and Advani, in New Delhi.