NCP welcomes Modi and Sharif bilateral talks on terrorism

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Saturday praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for holding talks on terrorism with his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif in Ufa, Russia on Friday.

Welcoming Prime Minister Modi's decision to accept Sharif's invitation to visit Islamabad, NCP leader D. P. Tripathi said: "After a long time, talks were held between the prime ministers of the two countries, and this is welcoming and responsible on the part of (Prime Minister) Modi. I congratulate Prime Minister Narendra Modi for holding talks on how terror can be jointly fought and not bringing up controversial topics like Kashmir. This discussion will help in improving relations between the two countries."

Prime Minister Modi, who met Pakistan counterpart Sharif on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in the Russian city of Ufa, also accepted an invitation to attend the regional SAARC summit in Islamabad next year.

The announcements were made after a meeting between the Prime Ministers that began with a warm handshake and ran longer than planned.

The statement made no reference to Kashmir, nor was it brought up by Sharif during the talks.

Their last formal talks were in May 2014 after Sharif had attended Prime Minister Modi's swearing-in ceremony in Delhi.