NEW DELHI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Indian capital on Friday and invited him to visit Pakistan, the India Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup said on Twitter.

 

Swarup said that the two leaders welcomed the recent developments in bilateral ties between India and Pakistan, and hoped that these would lead to closer cooperation. But earlier on Friday, PTI Central Information Secretary Shireen Mazari had said on Twitter that Imran Khan is in India on the invitation of India Today and “a meeting may also take place with Indian PM on latter’s invitation”. In a statement, adviser Naeemul Haque had said the Indian premier and Pakistani politician will discuss “matters of mutual interest”.

 

Later, Mazari confirmed that Imran Khan will be meeting the Indian PM before speaking at the India Today conference. The PTI chairman left for New Delhi on Friday on a two-day visit to attend a conference on Indo-Pak relations. The event is being hosted by India Today, according to a tweet by the PTI’s official account. A PTI official said Imran is accompanied by party leaders Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Naeemul Haq.

 

The meeting between Imran and Modi comes days after Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj visited Islamabad and held meetings with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and PM’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz. The two sides agreed to reinitiate the comprehensive dialogue process to discuss all outstanding issues, including terrorism and Kashmir. They noted the successful talks on terrorism and security related issues in Bangkok by the two national security advisers and decided that the security advisers will continue to address all issues connected to terrorism.

 

Pakistan assured the Indian side that the government is taking steps being to expedite the early conclusion of the Mumbai trials. Last week, the PTI chairman expressed shock at the revelation that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had held a secret “deniable” meeting with his Indian counterpart in 2014 on the sidelines of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit in Kathmandu. Criticising the present leadership of both nations, he attributed the lack of courage and conviction as the reason why the secret meetings were held.

 

This inability to move forward confidently by Prime Minister Nawaz is also undermining the credibility of Pakistan Army at a critical juncture in Pakistan’s history when the military is combating terrorism across the country, the PTI chief had said in a statement. Imran said he believed peace between Pakistan and India was inevitable for the prosperity of people of the subcontinent as peace will ensure economic vibrancy through trade and investment opportunities.

 

Separately, on the Indo-Pak cricketing ties, Imran Khan asserted that stopping cricket is not an answer to terrorism and said he has raised the issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi while hoping for a positive response. “Stopping cricket is not an answer to terrorism. You don’t boycott a society on the basis of few sick men,” Imran said when asked about playing cricket amid terrorism from across the border, at “Agenda AajTak”.