ISLAMABAD-
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday telephoned Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and other leaders of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to discuss bilateral matters and wish the countries luck for the Cricket World Cup tournament that kicks off on February 14.
Spoke to President @ashrafghani, PM Sheikh Hasina, PM Nawaz Sharif & President Sirisena. Conveyed my best wishes for the Cricket World Cup.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 13, 2015
5 SAARC Nations are playing & are excited about the World Cup.Am sure WC will celebrate sportsman spirit & will be a treat for sports lovers
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 13, 2015
Cricket connects people in our region & promotes goodwill. Hope players from SAARC region play with passion & bring laurels to the region.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 13, 2015
Would be sending our new Foreign Secretary on a SAARC Yatra soon to further strengthen our ties.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 13, 2015
According to a statement by the PM House Islamabad spokesperson, bilateral issues between the respective countries were also discussed. The two leaders also reviewed the security situation in the region.
Indian foreign office spokesperson said that Modi conveyed his best wishes to PM Nawaz for the upcoming Pakistan-India cricket World Cup match on February 15. Modi expressed hope that the players from both teams would play the match with passion.
Last August, India called off talks with Pakistan after its ambassador in New Delhi met with Kashmiri separatist leaders, saying the Pakistani official could either talk with India, or talk with the rebels.
The setback came shortly after India and Pakistan had agreed to resume talks in May when Sharif attended Modi’s inauguration.
As tensions increased, Indian and Pakistani troops exchanged fire regularly in the disputed Kashmir region.
The two leaders last spoke to each other following the Peshawar school massacre on December 16. Modi had called Sharif to condole the killing of school children in the attack and extended his support for the Pakistani nation mourning the tragedy.
India and Pakistan have used “cricket diplomacy” to break past impasses.
Then-Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani met with then-Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2011 during a World Cup cricket match in the northern city of Chandigarh, using the same cover employed in 2005 by then-President Pervez Musharraf for a meeting with Singh during an India-Pakistan cricket match.
Then-President Ziaul Haq visited Jaipur, India, to watch a cricket match between the two countries in the 1980s.
Since their independence from Britain in 1947, India and Pakistan have fought three wars, two of them over Kashmir. Both countries control parts of the Himalayan region and claim it in its entirety.
