Don't expect too much from Modi-Sharif meet: Pakistan media

Islamabad, May 25 (IANS) Two Pakistani newspapers Sunday lauded Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for agreeing to attend Narendra Modi's oath taking Monday but said there should not be too many expectations from a Modi-Sharif meeting.

"Contrary to popular belief, there is a lot of good that could come from this meeting as well," The Nation said in an editorial.

It said a meeting the two leaders are scheduled to have a day later "will be the perfect opportunity to assess where the new Indian government stands".

"Modi's body language and his words will be very informative for our prime minister," it added.

The daily said that although Sharif had made his intentions on improving ties with India no secret, a half hour meeting was not what he had in his mind.

This is "why the government took its time in thinking before giving an answer" in the affirmative in response to an invitation from New Delhi to attend Modi's swearing in Monday as India's new prime minister.

The News International said expectations of improved relations with India after Modi's landslide victory "are so low that there is a tendency to overstate the importance of every small action as a symbol of change.

"Modi's invitation to Sharif, and Nawaz's positive response, to attend the new Indian prime minister's inauguration Monday, are both shrewd gambits made by veteran leaders."

The Indian invitation "does not in itself mean that Modi is ready to take ties with Pakistan to the next level", it said.

The Pakistani daily said that whether Modi accepts the offer of a return visit ... may be an early indication.

"But events have a way of ruining even the best of intentions, and the future course of relations may be out of the hands of both leaders," said the editorial.