New York: As the annual session of the United Nations General Assembly is nearing, the speculation is again mounting on whether the prime ministers of India and Pakistan will have a bilateral on the sidelines of the international gathering.
As per a report in NDTV, it has been confirmed that Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will also be staying at New York's iconic Waldorf Astoria hotel, where room for PM Narendra Modi has already been booked.
Staying at the same hotel means the two leaders have a greater chance of running into each other and have an 'accidental' meeting. Even if that is ruled out, an in-the-lobby handshake cannot be ruled out.
Sources in the Ministry of External Affairs are not writing off anything yet. While they say no meeting is on agenda as of now, yet they are unwilling to rule it out. "Nothing is ruled out or ruled in," NDTV quoted MEA sources as saying.
The view is same on the Pakistani side, say reports.
While PM Modi arrives in New York on Wednesday, his Pakistani counterpart will reach US on Friday.
Cancellation of recent NSA-level talks and repeated ceasefire violations along the Indo-Pak border and LoC in Jammu and Kashmir has cast a shadow on the peace dialogue.
Pakistan has put the ball in India's court saying it for New Delhi now to fix up a meeting that too with Kashmir on agenda.
