This Article is From May 28, 2014

Nawaz Sharif's Visit to India 'Much Better Than We Expected': Senior Pakistan Official

Nawaz Sharif's Visit to India 'Much Better Than We Expected': Senior Pakistan Official

Newly sworn-in Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) gestures to Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as they shake hands during a meeting in New Delhi on May 27, 2014.

Islamabad: The outcome of Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's visit to India "was much better than we expected," his National Security and Foreign Affairs Advisor Sartaj Aziz said today.

On Monday, Mr Sharif attended Prime Minister Narendra Modi's grand swearing-in ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. The two leaders then met yesterday at the Hyderabad House in the capital for 50 minutes in an interaction widely viewed as an "ice-breaker" between the nuclear-armed neighbours. (Foreign Media On Meeting)

"Both sides expressed mutual concern to convert confrontation into cooperation... Actual outcome of the Pak PM's visit to India was much better than we expected," Mr Aziz said. (Need to Change Confrontation into Cooperation, Says Nawaz Sharif)

He said that the issues of cross-border terrorism and Kashmir were discussed but not substantially during the bilateral meeting.

During the meeting, PM Modi also sought for expediting the 26/11 Mumbai attacks case, a demand which Mr Aziz described as "not a new one from India". (In Meeting With Nawaz Sharif, PM Narendra Modi Raises Terror, 26/11 Trial)

The leaders of the two neighbouring countries agreed that terrorism was an issue of mutual concern and that they needed to address all conflicts to end the distrust between the two sides, he added.

He also said that Mr Sharif did not meet the Hurriyat leadership as it was a ceremonial visit to India.
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