Modi, Sharif may meet in US next month: report

Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi may meet next month in the US on the sidelines of a nuclear summit being hosted by President Barack Obama, a media report said on Friday.

Both Mr Sharif and Mr Modi have accepted Mr Obama's invitation to attend the nuclear summit in Washington on March 31 and April 1, Dawn newspaper said.

"The chances are strong, very strong," said a senior official who did not want to be identified.

"But you know the history of India-Pakistan talks. You cannot be certain about an event until it has happened," the official added.

It will be the first time that both Indian and Pakistani premiers will be attending the nuclear security summit, which President Obama initiated in 2010.

The summit, which is aimed at preventing terrorists from acquiring nuclear weapons, brings leaders from across the world to discuss various proposals for attaining this goal.

The first summit was held in Washington on April 12-13, 2010.

Since this is President Obama's final year in office, the administration is pushing hard for achieving some concrete results during the fourth summit.

Meanwhile, in an editorial Dawn newspaper said, "What Indian officials really ought to be directing their energies to is achieving an immediate resumption of the bilateral dialogue. Pakistan and India deserve better than the old approach of endless complaints and no forward movement."