By Manish Chand, IANS,
Washington : Pakistan Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani Monday walked up to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and talked to him for a couple of minutes at a dinner hosted by US President Barack Obama for visiting world leaders at the Nuclear Security Summit.
“They shook hands with each other and exchanged pleasantries,” was all Vishnu Prakash, spokesperson of India’s external affairs ministry, told journalists. The spokesperson did not disclose any details even when headline-hunting Indian journalists kept pressing him for details.
The leaders of India and Pakistan have avoided a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit, adding uncertainty to the future of dialogue between the two countries that stalled after the Mumbai attacks.
Manmohan Singh and Gilani are among 47 world leaders attending the summit that aims at securing loose bomb-making material around the globe within four years.
Manmohan Singh and Gilani met US President Barack Obama separately at Blair House, the presidential guest house, Sunday afternoon, but both sides have ruled out a bilateral meeting.
This is the second time in four months the leaders of India and Pakistan have avoided a formal bilateral meeting on the sidelines of a multilateral summit.
The decision of both sides not to have talks inn Washington is seen as a careful move to avoid publicity before they are expected to meet on the sidelines of April 28-29 South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit in the Bhutanese capital Thimpu.
In his 50-minute talks with Obama Sunday, Manmohan Singh had underlined Pakistan’s lack of action against the architects of the Mumbai carnage and sought the US support in reining in Pakistan-based militant organisations like the Lashkar-e-Taiba that target India.