In Brief Meeting At Opera, PM Modi, Nawaz Sharif Stick to Small Talk

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif tonight exchanged pleasantries at a cultural event here, amid frosty bilateral ties, deadlocked talks and escalation of hostilities along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.

It was the first conversation between PM Modi and Mr Sharif after their last meeting in Lahore on December 25, 2015, when PM Modi made a surprise stopover at the historic city.

PM Modi and Mr Sharif are here to attend the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation or SCO to which India and Pakistan will be inducted as full members tomorrow.

People familiar with the matter said PM Modi and Mr Sharif were in the Leaders' Lounge at the Astana Opera tonight before the SCO concert where they exchanged greetings.

"Since it was the first occasion when the two leaders came across each other after Sharif's operation, PM Modi enquired about his health. He also enquired about Sharif's mother and family," a person with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Mr Sharif had undergone an open-heart surgery in June last year.

The brief exchange of words between the two prime ministers came at a time when bilateral ties have nosedived over a range of issues including beheading of two Indian soldiers by the Pakistani military along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir, and the death sentence given to former Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav by a military court in Pakistan on charges of spying.

The International Court of Justice has stayed Mr Jadhav's execution. The LoC has also seen rising tension.

In December 2015, PM Modi had made a stopover in Lahore on his way back home after a day-long trip to Afghanistan. It was also the first visit to Pakistan by an Indian prime minister in over 10 years.

However, the positivity from PM Modi's visit was shortlived as Pakistan-based terrorist groups carried out an attack on an Indian Air Force base in Pathankot in January 2016.

Earlier, asked whether there is a possibility of a bilateral meeting between PM Modi and Mr Sharif, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Gopal Baglay said neither the Pakistani side nor India has any proposal for such a meeting.

Mr Baglay said there have been times when the two leaders were present at a same place, but he was not aware whether they met.

PM Modi, Mr Sharif, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping were among the head of states who attended a reception hosted by Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Both PM Modi and Mr Sharif sat apart at the event.

The cultural event had a Kathak dance performance by an Indian team. It was the only performance from a country which is not yet a member of the SCO.

Earlier in the day, when asked whether he will meet with PM Modi, Mr Sharif only smiled and waved at journalists.