India on Wednesday night denied that there was any informal meeting between external affairs minister Jaswant Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Abdul Sattar during the inaugural meeting of SAARC council of ministers. Reacting to a report in this regard by an Indian news channel, official spokesperson of the external affairs ministry Nirupama Rao said, ''There was no informal meeting between the two ministers.'' ''Infact all seven SAARC ministers were present at the informal meeting on SAARC that lasted 20 minutes. Where is the question of bilateral meeting,'' she said. She said mere handshake between the two ministers could not be termed a bilateral meeting.
Bureau Report