Daily Times

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Thursday lashed out at premier Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi for holding a ‘secret meeting’ in Kathmandu last year, and called both leaders ‘cowards’.

“Leaders do not need to hold meetings in secret. They do not need to lie; in fact they must be credible,” said the PTI chief, addressing a leaders’ conference in Lahore. A book called ‘This Unquiet Land — Stories from India’s Fault Lines,’ by veteran TV journalist Barkha Dutt, alleges Nawaz and Modi vanished for an hour to hold a quiet meeting ? which was so secret that it was deniable ? on the sidelines of a regional summit hosted by Nepal last year.

But both the Pakistan and Indian governments via official statements rubbished reports of such a meeting, terming news reports on the matter “baseless”.

Imran Khan said leaders must be able to “sell their vision to their people”. He went on to say that India and Pakistan hold immense potential to benefit from bilateral trade, citing the example of the European Union where the concept of borders is nonexistent.

Imran said because the subcontinent is one of the poorest regions in the world, our leaders need to “re-prioritise their visions”, adding that there was a severe lack of vision among leaders of both countries. The PTI chief said ending poverty in the region should be top priority for leaders of the region.

“Through improved trade relations between Pakistan and India and by implementing policies that aim to end poverty and resolve disputes like Kashmir, our leaders can create peace in both countries.”