Modi to meet Pak PM Nawaz Sharif, other SAARC leaders

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif and other leaders from the Saarc countries in one of his first engagements after taking charge. [caption id=“attachment_1543835” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] PM Modi and Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif shake hands after Modi is sworn in as India’s new prime minister. PTI[/caption] Modi, who talked to Sharif on Monday, tweeted about their conversation saying the Pakistani prime minister’s mother got emotional seeing his (Modi’s) meeting with his mother on television following the Bharatiya Janata Party’s victory in the election. Though Modi will be meeting all leaders from the Saarc countries, it is his meeting with Sharif that has aroused the maximum interest in the media due to the troubled relationship between the two countries over the years. Before his departure to India, Sharif was reported by the Pakistani media as saying that he was carrying a message of peace and will discuss all matters with the Indian leadership. As a goodwill gesture, Sharif on Sunday ordered the release of 151 Indian prisoners captured by Pakistan. There is a sense of anticipation among the people of both countries over Sharif’s meeting with Modi. The meeting will take place at 11.45 am and is expected to last about 25 minutes. It will be Modi’s last meeting of the day with Saarc leaders who had flown in to attend his swearing-in ceremony on Monday at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Officials termed the meetings of the leaders with Modi as “courtesy meetings”. Modi, who reached Gujarat Bhavan after the ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, had a meeting with officials. Modi’s first meeting today will be with Afghan President Hamid Karzai at Hyderabad House at 9.30 am. It will be followed by meetings with Maldives President Abdullah Yameen, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam and Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala. Bangladesh parliament speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury will also meet Modi. Sharif, Karzai, Yameen, Rajapaksa and Ramgoolam are scheduled to fly out Tuesday after their meetings with Modi. Tobgay, Chaudhury and Koirala are scheduled to leave 28 May. IANS