PM Narendra Modi and Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif at the formal banquet on Wednesday night.
The chill that has descended upon the India-Pakistan relationship became evident during the meet of the Heads of States at the SAARC Summit on Wednesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif shared a dais - but not even a nod passed between the two men.
Ahead of the summit, there had been speculations about the possibilities of talks between the two countries on the sidelines of the meet. But with no formal bilateral meeting scheduled between the two leaders, expectations had dwindled. Still, those hoping for a brief exchange of pleasantries were disappointed on Day One of the Summit.
PM Modi and Mr Sharif, who were sitting two seats away from each other during the three-hour meet, did not even look at each other - not even when the Pakistan Prime Minister walked by to deliver his speech.
And at the meeting, Pakistan blocked the key proposals made by India. Its opposition has stalled the three major agreements that aim at promoting cross-border trade, which remains minimal between SAARC countries.
Yesterday, Mr Sharif said if the two countries were to talk, the initiative will have to come from India.
"Cancellation of (foreign secretary-level) talks was New Delhi's unilateral decision," and the "ball is now India's court for talks between both the countries," he had told Geo TV.
India had been non-committal about the matter.
"We have been shouting from the top of the roof that we are ready for meaningful dialogue. The emphasis was on meaningful. In Pakistan, they know it very clearly what we mean by meaningful dialogue as they know us and understand us," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said when asked about Mr Sharif's remarks.