New Delhi, Sep 23 India Tuesday virtually ruled out a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistani Premier Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, saying there are “no plans for a meeting”.
External affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin at a briefing here also said in answer to a question that India has conveyed to Pakistan that “it was not proper for the Pakistan High Commissioner to have made a spectacle of his meeting with the Hurriyat” despite being asked not to, and India has taken “adverse notice” of it.
Asked if there was a “chance” of a meeting between Modi and Sharif in New York on the sidelines of the UNGA, Akbaruddin said that “chance is something no one has plans for” and as of now “there are no plans for a meeting” between the two leaders next week.
He also said to another question that senior Pakistani officials had held a meeting with senior officials of the external affairs ministry, including Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh, which were in the nature of “courtesy calls requested by Pakistan”.
During the meetings, India has conveyed its disapproval of Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit persisting with holding meetings with separatist Kashmiri leaders, which led to New Delhi calling off the Aug 25 foreign secretary-level meeting in Islamabad.
Calling off of the Aug 25 talks also dimmed the possibility of the Modi-Sharif meeting in New York, which would have been their second meeting after Sharif came to New Delhi to attend Modi’s swearing-in on May 26.
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