Pak denies writing to Modi for meeting during SAARC Summit

Pakistan today dismissed reports that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has written a letter to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi for a meeting during the upcoming SAARC summit in Kathmandu.
The eight-nation South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit is scheduled to be held in the Nepalese capital from November 25.
Speculation was rife here that the two leaders could meet during the gathering.
Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam told reporters that no formal request for a meeting was sent from Pakistan.
"As for your question regarding a letter to Indian Prime Minister, the report is completely baseless. No such letter has been written," she said.

India, however, has remained non-committal on the prospects of a bilateral meeting between Modi and Sharif in Kathmandu.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin had said on November 10 that the SAARC summit was nearly two weeks away and it was a very long time from the perspective of Indo-Pak relations.
The Pakistani official said Pakistan condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and it's an active partner of the international community in combating this menace.
She said Pakistan "very scrupulously" adhere to and fulfil obligations on counter-terrorism flowing from the UN Security Council.
To a question about the threat from Islamic State militant group, the official said Pakistan has not received any specific request for cooperation against the dreaded outfit.

Talking about the anti-China militant group the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, she said "Pakistan's enemy is China's enemy and China's enemy is Pakistan's enemy."
"We have a principled position that we will not allow Pakistan's soil to be used against any country. Naturally, we also expect other countries to follow the same policy. I am not saying that in the context of China but generally as a principle," she said.
She said Pakistan and China are strategic partners and the engagement with China at the political level is a continuous two-way process.