ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) – Prime Minister Narendra Modi called premier Nawaz Sharif on Thursday to wish him on the World Cup in Australia and the two bonded over cricket after months of strained ties.
PM Modi tweeted this morning that he had spoken to Mr Sharif and the heads of other SAARC countries whose teams are playing in the World Cup to wish them luck.
Sources have told that PM Modi joked about Nawaz Sharif playing in a warm-up World Cup match in 1987 alongside cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, who is now Pakistan’s top opposition leader.
Mr Sharif reportedly laughed and said, “Kash vo Din Dubaara Aata (I wish those days would come back.)” After breaking the ice with cricket, the two leaders went on to discuss diplomacy, said sources.
PM Modi reportedly sounded out Nawaz Sharif on India’s initiative to send new Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar on a “SAARC yatra” or tour of South Asian countries, including Pakistan.
Sources say Nawaz Sharif then discussed the possibility of resuming foreign secretary level talks, which were cancelled in August last year amid a row over the Pakistan envoy’s move to engage with Kashmiri separatists. Ties worsened over a series of ceasefire violations by Pakistan.
