- Pakistani, Indian leaders meet after 17 months to exchange pleasantries
- PM Nawaz holds separate meetings with Putin, Ghani, Guterres in Astana
Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif exchanged pleasantries with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi at the Leaders’ Lounge on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit here in Kazakhstan.
More than 17-month after the Indian prime minister had made a sudden stopover in Lahore in December 2015, this was a fifth meeting between Nawaz Sharif and Narendra Modi. Although there were no details about any substantive talks during the short interaction.
There was neither any proposal from the Pakistani side nor any request from the Indian side for a Nawaz-Modi meeting. Some foreign media reported that the Indian prime minister inquired about Nawaz’s health and that of his family, as it was their first meeting after the Pakistani leader’s heart surgery.
“Our position has not changed. There is no proposal from their side. There is no proposal either from our side,” Gopal Baglay, spokesperson for India’s External Affairs Ministry, had said. Ties between Pakistan and India have nosedived over a range of issues including Jammu Kashmir.
On Friday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif held separate meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and UN Secretary General António Guterres in Astana on sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.
Prime Minister Nawaz and President Putin discussed issues of mutual interests and bilateral relations during the 40-minute meeting. The Russian leader congratulated Pakistan for becoming a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
He assured that Russia would extend cooperation in every field especially in war against terror. Prime Minister Nawaz also met President Ghani on the sidelines of the SCO Summit. There are no words for media from the either side about this short meeting.
During a 45-minute meeting, Prime Minister Nawaz and UN chief Guterres discussed issues related to Pakistan’s role in the war on terror and the ongoing diplomatic crisis in the Gulf region. Nawaz informed him about atrocities of in the Indian-held Kashmir, direct involvement in destabilising Pakistan or indirect role via Afghanistan.
