India-Pak ties at new low over Kulbhushan Jadhav, but Pakistan media claims Modi, Sharif meet in June

Pakistan media claims that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is likely to meet his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the  Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, in June. 

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India-Pak ties at new low over Kulbhushan Jadhav, but Pakistan media claims Modi, Sharif meet in June
Reports in Pakistani media claim Nawaz Sharif is likely to meet Narendra Modi in June. (File Photo/PTI)

In Short

  • Pakistan media claims Nawaz Sharif may meet Narendra Modi in June.
  • The two PMs may meet on the margins of SCO Summit in Astana in June.
  • Modi, Sharif had met on the margins of SCO Summit in Ufa, Russia in 2015.

Tension between India, Pakistan is at a new high after Pakistan Army announced death sentence for Kulbhushan Jadhav , a former Indian Navy officer on charges of spying. The trust deficit between the two neighbouring nuclear nations increased manifold with Jadhav's sentencing which India has termed as "premeditated murder." Despite heightened hostility, Pakistan media claims there is a high possibility of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif meeting his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi soon.

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Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are likely to meet on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, in June, reports The Express Tribune .

Citing Foreign Office officials and diplomatic sources, the Pakistani newspaper said that the PMs of the two countries may hold talks on the sidelines of SCO.

"As has been the case in the past, the two nuclear-tipped neighbours may bring yet another surprise, as foreign office officials and diplomatic sources do not rule out the possibility of a meeting between the prime ministers of the two countries in June," the paper said.

"Diplomatic sources told The Express Tribune that influential countries in the SCO are pushing Pakistan and India to re-engage in order to ensure that the next summit is held in a conducive environment," it added.

'JINXED' PAST

Prime Minister Modi had met Nawaz Sharif in the margins of SCO Summit in Ufa, Russia in 2015 too.

Meeting of India-Pakistan PMs amid hostile environment is nothing new. In 1998, just months after both India and Pakistan conducted nuclear tests, the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee travelled to Lahore by bus in an apparent attempt to bring back the peace process on track. In 1999, Kargil happened derailing the process.

The 2001 Parliament attack brought India and Pakistan on threshold of a war. However, months later the then Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf was in India for Agra Summit. But the relationship nose dived further.

WATCH: Musharraf to India Today: On Kulbhushan Jadhav, Pakistan will bow down to nobody

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