UNGA a great opportunity for leaders of India, Pak to meet: Ban

United Nations: UN chief Ban Ki-moon said he has always encouraged India and Pakistan for dialogue and the current General Assembly sessions provides a great opportunity for the leaders of the two countries to meet, even as India indicated that there was no bilateral meeting scheduled.

"The Secretary-General has always encouraged India and Pakistan to have a dialogue, and he has welcomed it when it has happened between various officials, and it is always an issue that he brings up in his various meetings with the Pakistani leadership and with the Indian leadership," Ban's spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said yesterday.

The Assembly sessions provide a "great opportunity" for world leaders to meet either formally or informally, he when asked if Ban will urge both the leaders to meet given that they will be in the town for the UN General Assembly session.

"The holding of the general debate is always a great opportunity for leaders to meet whether formally or informally, whether with the United Nations or just us giving them the space to do it, so let's see what happens," he said.

India has said that during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ongoing visit to the US, no bilateral meeting is scheduled with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif.

"As of now there is nothing, no bilateral meeting on the schedule," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup had said.

Modi and Sharif are staying at the same hotel in the city - the iconic Waldorf Astoria.

India and Pakistan have been engaging in a war of words after the cancellation of the NSA-level talks in August.

The two nations blame each other for frequent ceasefire violations along the LoC.