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Manmohan to meet Sharif in New York on Sept 29
Ashok Tuteja/TNS

Breakfast meeting The meeting is likely to take place at the Palace Hotel where Manmohan Singh will be staying during his visit to New York, official sources said. It could be a breakfast meeting between the two leaders Both Singh and Sharif are travelling to New York to attend the 68th session of the UN General Assembly

New Delhi, September 23
It is now certain that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will meet his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in New York on September 29.

Both Singh and Sharif are travelling to New York to attend the 68th session of the UN General Assembly.

The meeting is likely to take place at the Palace Hotel where Manmohan Singh will be staying in New York, official sources said. It could be a breakfast meeting between the two leaders, sources said.

The Indian PM is leaving for Washington on Wednesday to meet US President Barack Obama in Washington on September 27 and later fly to New York to address the UNGA on September 28. There is still intense speculation on whether he would hold bilateral talks with Sharif in the backdrop of heightened tension between the two countries in the wake of the killing of five Indian soldiers on the LoC recently. However, the sense in the South Block is that avoiding a meeting with Sharif in New York would further vitiate the atmosphere between the two countries.

On top of it, Sharif's repeated desire to meet Manmohan Singh could not be ignored as that would send a wrong message to the international community. Sources said the Manmohan Singh would firmly convey to Sharif India's position that Pakistan must not allow its territory to be misused for anti-India activities. He would also ask the Pakistani Premier to expedite the trial of the accused in the 26/11 Mumbai attack.