*UNITED NATIONS – India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swarajreportedly avoided any contact with her Pakistani counterpart Shah MahmoodQureshi as the two leaders attended a meeting of the SAARC Council ofMinisters in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.*

It was expected that the two leaders would exchange pleasantries when theycome face-to-face at the meeting, but it happened contrary to all thespeculations. A report from IndiaTVNews said Mr. Qureshi also avoidedhaving an interaction with Ms Swaraj.

The SAARC foreign ministers’ meeting had hogged the limelight when PrimeMinister Imran Khan wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and proposed thatthe foreign ministers of the two countries meet in New York.

India initially accepted the proposal but called off the meeting betweenthe two foreign ministers within 24 hours, on the pretext of allegedkillings of Indian security personnel in the Occupied Kashmir.