Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif maintained distance on the first day of the SAARC summit in Nepal on Wednesday (Livemint, ET, IBT, Reuters). SAARC is an economic and geopolitical cooperation between South Asian nations, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Even though Modi and Sharif were scheduled to hold bilateral talks with other SAARC members, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said that “no structured meeting” was planned between the two leaders.
While Pakistan said that “cancellation of talks was New Delhi’s unilateral decision,” and the “ball is now in India’s court for talks between both the countries,” India’s claims that Pakistan needs to commit to a “meaningful dialogue.” Earlier this year, the Indian government cancelled foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan, after Abdul Basit, Pakistani High Commissioner to India, met with Kashmiri separatists.
No agreements were signed on the first day of the SAARC summit, even though three were finalized prior to the summit, as Pakistan objected to proposals to establish a regional power grid and boost rail and road connectivity. Modi said: “As SAARC, we have failed to move with the speed that our people expect and want from us… Is it because we are stuck behind the walls of our differences and hesitant to move out of the shadows of the past?” (WSJ).