No meeting scheduled for Nawaz and Modi at UNGA

Published September 24, 2015
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif (L) and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi (R) are due to stay at the same hotel in New York during the meeting of world leaders this month. — AP/File
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif (L) and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi (R) are due to stay at the same hotel in New York during the meeting of world leaders this month. — AP/File

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and India have no plan to meet at the upcoming United Nations (UN) General Assembly, the Pakistani foreign office said on Thursday, scotching speculation that the leaders of the two nations might seek the opportunity to improve rocky ties.

Both Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi are due to stay at the same hotel in New York during the meeting of world leaders this month, leading some media to speculate the two would meet.

But Foreign Ministry spokesman Qazi Khalilullah denied those reports.

"No proposal is on the table for the meeting of the two PMs," he told Reuters.

Read: Sharif-Modi meeting in US unlikely

Planned talks between national security advisors from the two neighbours were cancelled last month hours before they were due to start, dashing hopes the two might tackle the violence that many fear could one day spark a nuclear showdown.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since becoming independent nations in 1947, two of them over the Himalayan region of Kashmir, which both claim in full but rule in part.

Sharif was elected in 2013 promising to improve relations with India, but since then domestic troubles have forced him to cede more control over foreign and security policy to Pakistan's military.

Modi, who took office in May last year, has taken a hard line with Pakistan, insisting he is unwilling to discuss other issues unless Pakistan admits its role in terror attacks in India.

In last month's cancelled talks, India wanted to only discuss terrorism-related issues.

Pakistan wanted a wider agenda, including the status of Kashmir, a topic that Khalilullah said Sharif would raise at the UN.

Opinion

Editorial

Military convictions
22 Dec, 2024

Military convictions

THE sentencing of 25 civilians by military courts for their involvement in the May 9, 2023, riots raises questions...
Need for talks
22 Dec, 2024

Need for talks

FOR a long time now, the country has been in the grip of relentless political uncertainty, featuring the...
Vulnerable vaccinators
22 Dec, 2024

Vulnerable vaccinators

THE campaign to eradicate polio from Pakistan cannot succeed unless the safety of vaccinators and security personnel...
Strange claim
Updated 21 Dec, 2024

Strange claim

In all likelihood, Pakistan and US will continue to be ‘frenemies'.
Media strangulation
Updated 21 Dec, 2024

Media strangulation

Administration must decide whether it wishes to be remembered as an enabler or an executioner of press freedom.
Israeli rampage
21 Dec, 2024

Israeli rampage

ALONG with the genocide in Gaza, Israel has embarked on a regional rampage, attacking Arab and Muslim states with...