“The prime minister expressed the hope that the visit will also help in providing Pakistan with an opportunity to highlight the matchless sacrifices and huge losses against the war on terror”, said an official statement.
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The English daily The Nation cited the Pakistan foreign ministry as saying that the meeting will give Sharif a chance to rebut India’s claims that Islamabad was disturbing regional peace and sponsoring terrorism.
The issues related to development projects of Balochistan were also discussed during the meeting.
While addressing the UN General Assembly, Sharif had proposed a four-point “new peace initiative” calling for demilitarising Kashmir and the Siachen heights, and formalising the 2003 ceasefire.
More generally, USA policymakers remain unconvinced that Pakistan has demonstrated sufficient will or capacity to destroy terrorist safe havens, he said.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is optimistic about winning USA support against India when he meets President Barrack Obama on October 22 at the Oval Office.
The Pakistan Government is reportedly preparing a comprehensive and detailed document on its relations with India, and the issues bedeviling the relationship, which it is likely to present to President Barack Obama.
The former minister quoted an aide of Sharif as disclosing with him that in the midst of dialogue in July 1999 between the premiers of both countries, when Atal Behari Vajpayee, the then Indian PM handed the phone to Kumar who was listening in.
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Referring to the sharp rise in tension between Pakistan and United States after Abbottabad attack by American troops that killed Osama bin Laden, Markey said in his commentary, titled “Superficially Normal” published yesterday that in the past few years, US-Pak disputes have not disappeared.
