Pakistani and Indian prime ministers shook hands and exchanged pleasantries even as tensions in Kashmir spiraled with shelling across the Line of Control that divides the disputed territory.
Nawaz Sharif and Narendra Modi had a brief encounter in Astana, Kazakhzstan, away from the animosity and conflict-hit environment of South Asia.
The two prime ministers in Astana, where their two countries are likely to be inducted as full members of a potentially powerful Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
But Indian officials in New Delhi discounted reading too much into the exchange of greetings in Astana, and the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad said India looked intent on triggering a war with Pakistan.
The meeting in Astana follows months of shelling across the LoC in Kashmir where Indian forces are using brutal tactics to silence calls for separation from India. The capture of an Indian spy has also heightened tensions.
In Islamabad, Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria India had been cautioned against any “strategic miscalculation”.
Earlier this week, military operations chiefs of the two nuclear armed countries had a hotline conversation during which both sides vowed retaliation in the case of any attack.
“We have no desire to escalate the situation. Pakistani armed forces would respond effectively to any unprovoked violations,” Zakaria said.
He said: “The Indian belligerence is a threat to regional peace and security.”
Analysts say shelling along the LoC poses a serious threat to peace prospects in South Asia as dialogue between Pakistan and India remains frozen.
