No bilateral meet, but what if Modi, Pak PM cross paths in US?

‘If a handshake happens, you will get to see it. If a pull aside happens, you will get to see it’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not hold a bilateral meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif during his five-visit to the United States, officials said.

"As of now there is nothing, no bilateral meeting on the schedule," Vikas Swarup, Spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs told reporters in New York.

PM Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Sharif are staying in the same hotel in the city -- the iconic Waldorf Astoria.

"There will be no deliberate attempt (at paths not crossing). If a handshake happens, you will get to see it. If a pull aside happens, you will get to see it," Swarup said.

Prime Minister Sharif is scheduled to arrive in New York on Friday evening.

Image: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan's Nawaz Sharif are living in the same hotel in New York. Photograph: Narendra Shrestha/Reuters