Modi reaches out to Pakistani PM ahead of cricket World Cup

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday reached out to Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as he wished all heads of participating South Asian nations ahead of the cricket World Cup.

"Spoke to (Afghan) President Ashraf Ghani, (Bangladesh) Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, (Pakistan) Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and (Sri Lankan) President (Maithripala) Sirisena. Conveyed my best wishes for the Cricket World Cup," Modi tweeted.

He added "I am sure WC (World Cup) will celebrate sportsman spirit and will be a treat for sports lovers. Cricket connects people in our region and promotes goodwill. Hope players from SAARC region play with passion and bring laurels to the region."

The Indian prime minister also said that Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar would embark on a "SAARC Yatra" to bolster ties between the countries.

"Would be sending our new Foreign Secretary on a SAARC Yatra soon to further strengthen our ties," Modi tweeted.

The move to send Jaishankar to Pakistan is significant as India had cancelled Foreign Secretary-level bilateral talks in August last year after Pakistan high commissioner to India Abdul Basit met with separatist leaders of Indian-controlled Kashmir on the eve of the Indo-Pak talks. Endi