SAARC summit: Ball in India's court to initiate bilateral talks, says Nawaz

PM says Saarc summit will only be fruitful to resolve regional issues when India and Pakistan engage in talks

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif upon arrival in Kathmandu on Tuesday said his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi should be asked why he is not willing to initiate dialogue with Pakistan.

Lamenting India's cancellation of foreign secretary level talks earlier, PM Nawaz said the onus is now on India to initiate dialogue with Pakistan.

"The ball is in India's court to initiate bilateral talks," he said. Further, the premier said the Saarc summit would only be a fruitful forum to discuss and resolve regional issues when India and Pakistan engaged in talks.

Earlier, private media reports rejected the possibility of a meeting between the two leaders on the sidelines of the Saarc Summit.

The premier’s senior aide, Sartaj Aziz, on his arrival at Kathmandu clarified there were no plans for a Nawaz-Modi bilateral meeting.

However, he added a meeting between the two leaders could be arranged if Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj made a request and said it was up to India to have 'informal talks' with Pakistan.

There has been speculation about the possibility of a meeting between the two leaders on the sidelines of the Saarc summit against the backdrop of simmering border tensions.

Although the two nuclear-armed neighbours have repeatedly insisted that neither country has shown any interest in the bilateral meeting, The Express Tribune had learnt through reliable sources that interaction between Nawaz and Modi is still a ‘possibility.’

Earlier, a statement issued by the foreign ministry said that on the sidelines of the SAARC summit, PM Nawaz would meet other leaders of member countries to discuss issues of bilateral and regional interest. However, it did not say whether Nawaz’s bilateral engagements also included a meeting with Modi.

When contacted, a senior foreign ministry official insisted that Pakistan had not yet received any request for such a meeting from the Indian side.

However, India’s external affairs ministry had clarified that a meeting between Modi and Nawaz was not on the agenda.

"We are all for a meaningful dialogue. There are structured meetings tomorrow, meetings that were asked for."

The ministry added that there was no meeting (between Swaraj and Aziz), and exchange of courtesies shouldn't be taken as a meaningful dialogue.

Arrival in Nepal

PM Nawaz, who is representing Pakistan at the 18th Saarc summit arrived in Nepal early on Tuesday and was received by Nepal’s deputy prime minister.

The premier is expected to attend a meeting of Saarc foreign ministers today (Tuesday), which aims to finalise the agenda for the two-day Saarc summit on Wednesday.



The theme of the summit tomorrow is ‘Deeper Integration for Peace and Prosperity.’ Further, PM Nawaz will also be meeting other leaders of Saarc countries and will hold discussions on issues of bilateral and regional interests.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif receives a guard of honour upon his arrival to take part in the 18th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit in Kathmandu November 25, 2014. PHOTO: REUTERS

In a statement made by the prime minister before departure, he said that Pakistan wants peace and stability in the region.

He also said that he wanted to transform Saarc into a strong trade and economic bloc based on the pattern of European Union, adding that this would only be possible in an environment of peace and economic cooperation.