Astana/ New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif greeted each other at a cultural gala in Astana on Thursday night, according to sources.
The sources said Modi and Sharif were in the Leaders' Lounge at the Astana Opera before the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) concert. Since it was the first occasion when the two leaders met each other after Sharif's operation, Modi enquired about the Pak premier’s health. He also enquired about Sharif's mother and family, they added.
Earlier, asked whether Modi and Sharif will have a bilateral meeting, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay said, “Our position has not changed. There is no proposal from their side. There is no proposal either from our side.”
Both Modi and Sharif arrived in Astana on Thursday to participate in the SCO Summit which will on Friday induct both India and Pakistan as its full members.
Ties between India and Pakistan have nosedived over a range of issues, including beheading of two soldiers by the Pakistan military along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir and the death sentence handed down to former Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav by a military court in Pakistan on charges of spying. The International Court of Justice has stayed Jadhav's execution.
The Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir has also been witnessing rising tensions.
(with PTI inputs)
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