Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi met on Friday in Ufa, Russia. During the meeting the Indian premier accepted the invitation of Nawaz Sharif to visit Pakistan for the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit next year. The announcement of Modi’s visit was made by Indian Indian Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar during a joint statement issued with his Pakistani counterpart after the meeting between PM Nawaz and PM Modi on the sidelines of the ongoing Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit. Pakistani Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry said that the meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere and both leaders exchanged views on bilateral and regional interest. He added that it was agreed in the meeting that both India and Pakistan have a collective responsibility to ensure peace and promote development.
The meeting is an ice breaker after recent hostilities between the two countries. India has been aggressive in its campaign against Pakistan on International level; various high profile Indian officials have over the past few months have issued threatening statements aimed at Pakistan. There has also been consensus in Pakistan that India has been sponsoring terrorist activities in Pakistan. Recently the Pakistan Government has vowed to raise the issue of Indian involvement in terror activities on International level. However, surprisingly the issue of Indian involved in terror activities and the Kashmir issue was not even on the agenda during the meeting. The meeting has also disappointed the Kashmiri leadership which has expressed shock over the fact that the issue of Kashmir was not raised by Pakistan. Questions are also being raised on Pakistan’s silence on Indian funding of terror activities in Pakistan. Before the meeting India was very much on the back-foot, however, the meeting has turned the tables because of the weak stance adopted by Pakistan.
PM Nawaz failed to raise the Kashmir issue and the issue of Indian involvement in terror activities in Pakistan.