PM Narendra Modi may tell Nawaz Sharif to refrain from internationalising Kashmir

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to tell his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif to refrain from internationalising Kashmir, if he meets him on the sidelines of the Saarc Summit in Kathmandu later this week. Given the Saarc format, Modi cannot avoid meeting Sharif either during launch, retreat and closing ceremonies of the summit on Wednesday and Thursday, where all eight leaders of the grouping will be present at the same venue.

Official sources said that if a structured dialogue between Modi and Sharif happens, the Indian PM will do some tough talking on the Kashmir issue in the backdrop of Hurriyat-Islamabad links, repeated violations along the border in Jammu and Kashmir and attempts to internationalise Kashmir through UN and public rallies in Europe.

New Delhi is peeved with sudden spurt in efforts by Islamabad to internationalise the Kashmir issue at international fora. Modi will also raise the issue of crossborder terror, intrinsically linked with Kashmir, if the meeting happens. Experts said this has domestic political ramifications for BJP in the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.

Pakistan’s Inter-Service Intelligence chief Lt General Rizwan Akhtar met Sharif and briefed him about matters relating to national security, just ahead of his summit tour. According to diplomatic sources in Islamabad, Sharif wants to be prepared about the latest Line of Control skirmishes and other external security issues.

Modi will leave for Kathmandu on Tuesday along with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh. It will be his second meeting with nearly all leaders, except for Afghanistan’s new president Ashraf Ghani, as Modi had invited Saarc leaders for his swearing-in ceremony on May 26.