JOIN USPrime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistan counterpart M Nawaz Sharif may meet in Tashkent late next month.
Modi is likely to travel to the capital of Uzbekistan to attend the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on June 23 and 24. Sharif is also expected to attend the summit if he recuperates by then after undergoing the open heart surgery next Tuesday. Modi on Saturday conveyed “best wishes” to his Pakistani counterpart, who will undergo the surgery at a hospital in London.
“My best wishes to PM Nawaz Sharif Sahab for his open heart surgery on Tuesday. And for his speedy recovery & good health,” Modi tweeted.
Sources in New Delhi did not rule out the possibility of a bilateral meeting between Modi and Sharif on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Tashkent. They maintained that Modi’s bilateral engagements in Tashkent were yet to be finalised, but he is likely to have bilateral meetings with other leaders participating in the summit. If Sharif also attends the summit, a meeting between the two prime ministers may happen, sources added.
If Modi has a bilateral meeting with Sharif in Tashkent, it will be the first such meeting between the two leaders after the January 2-4 terror attack on the Indian Air Force base at Pathankot in Punjab.