LAHORE, Nov 20 (INP)  Former Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri still hopes that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will meet his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on the sidelines of next week’s SAARC Summit in Kathmandu, Nepal to build peace for the people of the region.

“Peace in the region is very important. Nearly 60 crore (600 million) people are living below the poverty. We, who live in big cities and big houses, should think about their conditions. We will be able to change their fortune, if we live in peace. I hope that both of them will meet during SAARC Summit,” said Kasuri.

In August, the Indian Government cancelled foreign secretary-level talks after Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit held talks with Kashmiri separatists ahead of the proposed meeting.

Narendra Modi has also accused Pakistan of waging “proxy war” by sending militants to attack India and used a trip to occupied Kashmir to stress that reconciliation between the nuclear-armed neighbours needs peace.

Making his second visit since his election triumph in May to the northern region – whose territory has been divided since a war between India and Pakistan that followed their independence in 1947 – Modi vowed to strengthen India’s armed forces.

INP