PM's meeting with Jindal not discussed with the army: Marriyum Aurangzeb

ISLAMABAD: State Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb on Friday said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s meeting with Indian businessman Sajjan Jindal was not discussed in a recent meeting between the prime minister and the army leadership, ARY News reported.

The minister, who acts as government spokesperson, termed the media reports in this respect as misleading.

Aurangzeb giving the government’s view said that Mr. Jindal has been a personal friend of the prime minister and he met with him in a personal capacity.

The meeting between Mr Sharif and Indian steel magnate Sajjan Jindal, who came to Pakistan in a brief visit last month, was held at the Murree residence of the prime minister.

The meeting fuelled wild speculations after the media broke the news.

Sajjan Jindal — a close friend of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi — was part of a backchannel diplomacy between the governments of Pakistan and India, BBC Urdu had said in a report yestersday.

The BBC Urdu report quoting well placed sources, said that during a recent meeting the prime minister took Chief of the Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa into confidence about his meeting with Mr Jindal.