By Aamir Latif
KARACHI, Pakistan
In a breakthrough meeting of rival India and Pakistan's prime ministers, it was agreed that India's Narendra Modi will visit Pakistan during a summit of South Asian leaders next year.
A joint press conference between the countries' foreign secretaries was held shortly after the Friday meeting, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization security bloc's summit in Russia, where both countries are attending as observers.
The meeting had been expected to be brief, to break a year of tense relations, but also culminated in discussions being scheduled in New Delhi between the national security advisors of both countries.
This was the first meeting between the two prime ministers after Pakistan's Nawaz Sharif attended Modi's swearing-in ceremony in New Delhi in May 2014.
Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party lauded the meeting, claiming it had been a major breakthrough and was focused on security issues.
"For the first time, Pakistan has accepted the Indian position on terrorism by rejecting it in all forms. So there is a glimmer of light," BJP spokesman MJ Akbar told reporters in New Delhi.
The prime ministers also discussed ongoing tensions along their shared border, the release of hundreds of fishermen arrested by both countries within 15 days and several longstanding disputes, including the status of divided Kashmir.
Of the three full-scale wars the countries have fought since 1947, two have been over Kashmir.
