PM Modi and Xi Jinping had a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Bishkek
Highlights
- PM Modi reiterated India's stand on terror at the Shanghai Summit
- He said Pak should take action against terror for talks to resume
- PM Modi referred to the matter during his meet with China's Xi Jinping
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reiterated India's stand that Pakistan should take concrete action against terror before talks can resume. New Delhi's views on talks and terror not going hand in hand has gained strength after the terror attack in Pulwama and the foreign ministry said PM Modi referred to the matter during his bilateral meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit on Thursday.
"Pakistan needs to create an atmosphere free of terror, but at this stage we do not see it happening. We expect Islamabad to take concrete action" to resume talks, foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale quoted the Prime Minister as telling President Xi.
China is a strategic ally of Pakistan and is investing considerably in its infrastructure projects. President Xi is expected to meet Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is also attending the SCO summit.
Ahead of the summit, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had written separate letters to their Indian counterparts, pushing for resumption of bilateral talks. After assuming office too, Imran Khan had written to PM Modi, seeking dialogue on all issues, including Kashmir.
But no bilateral meeting was scheduled between PM Modi and Imran Khan during the summit, where the two are expected to meet for the first time since the cricketer-turned politician took over as the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
India's pressure on Pakistan to take action on terrorists acting from its soil spiked after the February 14 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama, in which 40 soldiers died.
In a huge diplomatic win for India, China also lifted its technical hold on listing Pakistan-based terrorist Masood Azhar as a global terrorist by the UN. Beijing said it took the decision after it found no objection from the US, UK and France.
During their meeting on Thursday, Xi Jinping told PM Modi that India and China "do not pose threats" to each other as he expressed Beijing's willingness to join New Delhi in pushing forward a closer development partnership between the two sides. "China is ready to work with India to continuously advance the closer development partnership between the two countries," Xi Jinping said.
On Wednesday evening, after the ministry said PM Modi won't fly over Pakistan on his way to Kyrgyzstan -- a move seen as a snub -- Islamabad said its airspace was open for the VVIP flight. Pakistan had closed its airspace in February after the Balakot air strikes.
On Thursday, the Prime Minister's flight took a different route to Bishkek.
(With inputs from PTI)