Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly — but Indian officials say he has no meeting scheduled with Pakistani premiere Nawaz Sharif.
“He is not meeting Nawaz Sharif. That is not on his busy schedule in US,” said India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin.
When asked whether there could be a last minute ‘chance meeting’ between the two, Akbaruddin said: “We don’t go by chances, we go by schedules. But you journalists can continue speculating on chances; that is your business.”
Sharif had responded to Modi’s invitation to attend his swearing-in ceremony despite serious objections from the Pakistan army. He also faced much criticism for not raising the Kashmir issue during his Delhi visit.
In fact, Sharif’s daughter Mariam had tweeted during that visit: “Can’t we live in peace like United Europe, must we fight like divided Korea”.
But Modi realises that Sharif is under trouble due to huge agitations back home led by cleric Qadri and cricketer-politician Imran Khan — so he may not be able to promise much.
Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif before a meeting in New Delhi on May 27, 2014, a day after Modi’s swearing-in ceremony. Photo: Reuters
“In fact, if he met Modi now, he may seek uncomfortable clarifications over BJP plans to do away with Kashmir’s special status under Art 370 of Indian Constitution. He may reflect tough position on Kashmir to play to a domestic constituency. So for Modi it is better to avoid him now,” said a top BJP leader known to be close to Modi.
“But he said Bangladesh under Hasina was seen as a ‘close friend’ and Modi would seek to reassure her on pushing ahead with the unfinished agenda of Teesta and land boundary agreements.
“It is payback time for India now and Modi is keen to visit Bangladesh soonest with something to show,” he said.
Source: Bd news24
