Modi-Sharif wave at each other at United Nations peacekeeping meet

Addressing the UN Peacekeeping Summit co-chaired along with President Barack Obama at the UN Headquarters in New York, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said Pakistan has all along supported efforts for reforms and strengthening of UN Peacekeeping forces. After a pause, Modi then waved again to which Sharif responded with a wave and a smile. Mr Sharif entered the venue a little later and waved at the Indian leader, who reciprocated the gesture and also smiled. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif observed there was need for mobilisation of resources to retain peacekeeping as an effective tool for the maintenance of worldwide peace and security.

It was another rare instance as the leaders of both countries opted for a stay in the same hotel, the prestigious Waldorf Astoria in New York, during their visit. They clapped at the end of each other’s speech.

INDIAN Prime Minister Narendra Modi is an astute politician with the ability to outsmart rivals and he is aiming for the “political and military dominance of India“, said a Pakistani daily that noted he was “received like a star” in the US.

Modi pointed out that Indian soldiers had been working on peacekeeping missions since World War II during which it lost more than 24000 troops and nearly half of that went missing. India called off foreign secretary-level talks in August past year after Basit met Hurriyat Conference leaders with Pakistan insisting that the separatists were “the true representatives of the Kashmiris”.

This was the second time the India-Pakistan dialogue process was derailed since Sharif attended Modi’s swearing-in-ceremony in May 2014. However, these talks were cancelled after India insisted that the NSAs should discuss the issue of terrorism alone as was agreed upon between the two sides in Ufa while Pakistan wanted the inclusion of Kashmir in the agenda. “PM @narendramodi meets President @BarackObama for his or her fifth assembly in a single yr”, tweeted exterior affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup.