Modi, Nawaz Sharif are in secret talks, claims Pak media

Islamabad: Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif are engaged in secret talks, Pakistan media reports claimed on Thursday.

Pakistani television channels reported that an Indian delegation, led by industrialist Sajjan Jindal, met Mr Sharif this week and flew back to India.

“The Indian delegation conveyed the message of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to PM Sharif,” claimed a Pakistani TV channel.

Pakistan’s Opposition party, Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf, raised the issue in Parliament.

Mr Jindal, JSW chairperson, spent some hours in Pakistan and then returned to India. The three-member delegation went to Murree where they had lunch with Mr Sharif, Dunya News reported.

The secret meeting comes amid efforts to pave the way for a meeting between Mr Sharif and Mr Modi on the sidelines of the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), an emerging economic and security alliance.

The reports of talks come amidst a diplomatic tussle between India and Pakistan over the death penalty awarded to former Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Yadav.

Imran Khan’s Opposition party, Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI), expressed reservation over the arrival of Indian delegation and submitted a resolution in Punjab Assembly and raised the issue in Parliament.

PTI’s leader in Punjab Assembly, Mehmoodur Rasheed, tabled a resolution stating that the Indian delegation flew to Pakistan to rescue a beleaguered Mr Sharif amid calls for his resignation after a split decision of the Supreme Court in the Panama leaks case.

The PTI resolution demanded the House and people be apprised of the motives behind the visit of the Indian delegation, which was not confirmed by the foreign ministry.

Voicing reservations, PTI spokesman Fawad Chaudhry said, “We are concerned over the visit. PM Sharif has business relations with Indians.”

Mr Modi’s surprise “stopover” in Lahore in December 2015, on Mr Sharif’s birthday, was also allegedly facilitated by Mr Jindal. The Indian government had denied that Mr Jindal had any role in the back channel talks between the two countries.