Modi bullied Sharif over terrorism: Pakistan journalist

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Narendra Modi "bullied" his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif over terrorism at their first meeting, a writer in a Pakistani newspaper said on Thursday.

Jalees Hazir said in The Nation that Modi not "only bullied him over terrorism and (the) Mumbai attack but also showed him the way forward ... brushing issues of importance to Pakistan ... under the carpet.

"The irony is that though he might not be able to say it in so many words, this also seems to be our prime minister's lopsided blueprint for peace with India," said Hazir, a freelance columnist.

A day after he took oath as Prime Minister, Modi held bilateral meetings with Sharif and leaders of other Saarc nations and Mauritius who attended his swearing-in ceremony.

Pakistani officials said the Modi-Sharif meeting went off very well.

Hazir said: "Our prime minister's platitudes about peace and cooperation seemed more than a bit out of place in the face of the thorny issues highlighted by the Indian side. Had he been invited to be lectured by the new Prime Minister of India?

"Actually, it was Modi's harsh lecturing of a guest which was in bad taste..."

"The prime minister's desire for friendly ties with India is all very well but it obviously takes two to tango. And anyone following Modi's campaign should have known that he was in no mood to dance."