Manmohan confirms meeting with Nawaz Sharif

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The Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has confirmed his meeting with Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif in New York.

Before his departure for the United States to attend the UN General Assembly session in New York‚ Manmohan Singh said, in New Delhi on Wednesday, that he looks forward to meeting his Pakistani counterpart in New York.

“During my visit to New York, I… look forward to bilateral meetings with the leaders of some of our neighbouring countries, including Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan,” Singh said in a statement before leaving for the United States.

The meeting had been in jeopardy after five Indian soldiers were killed in August along the de facto border that divides disputed Kashmir, an ambush which Delhi blamed on the Pakistan army.

Islamabad denied any responsibility for the ambush that sparked weeks of tensions and deadly military skirmishes between the neighbours over the Himalayan territory, which both countries control in part but claim in full.

Since winning an election in May, Sharif has been vocal about his desire for better relations with India, but recent flare-ups along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir have overshadowed peace prospects.

The meeting, that is expected to take place on the weekend, raises hopes of improved relations, including a resumption of stalled peace talks.

Discussions were suspended for three years after the 2008 attacks in Mumbai which killed 166 people and India Pakistani militants held Pakistani militants responsible for the event.

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