Modi-Sharif talks are welcome, but must translate into national benefit, says Congress

Leader of the Congress Party in the Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, on Tuesday welcomed the recent interaction between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the UN Climate Summit in Paris, but said such conversations must translate into national benefit.

"We will see the outcome of the meeting. There is nothing wrong in holding talks. We welcome if the talks are in the benefit of the nation, but what actually did they talk is not yet known," Kharge told ANI here.

"They just met for two minutes and I do not think any substantive talk can take place in such a short span of time. It may be a courtesy call," he added.

The two Prime Ministers met briefly yesterday in Paris as the climate conference began in the French capital. The two leaders warmly held hands before sitting down for a chat amidst frosty ties between the two Asian neighbours.

The Indian side described the encounter as a "brief exchange of courtesies", but Pakistan termed it as a "good" meeting.

However, neither side issued any official statement on what prompted the meeting.

The meeting was the first between the two leaders after July when they had met in the Russian city of Ufa and had agreed that their national security advisors would meet.

The two Prime Ministers had attended the UN General Assembly session in September but did not meet even though they had stayed in the same hotel.

Prime Minister Modi and his Pakistani counterpart came under one roof during a peacekeeping summit held on the sidelines of the General Assembly, but did not speak or shake hands.